Hyderabad, June 18 (IANS) A bomb threat to the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad on Wednesday sent security agencies into a tizzy, but after a thorough check, it was declared a hoax.

The police went on high alert after airport authorities received an email about the bomb threat.

Police said some unknown persons sent an email to the Begumpet airport informing about a bomb planted at the airport premises. The airport’s chief security officer immediately alerted the Hyderabad police.

Anti-sabotage teams and bomb disposal squads rushed to the airport located in the heart of the city and began a thorough search of the premises and its surroundings.

However, the police teams found no suspicious objects after extensive checks. The authorities declared it a hoax. Police said efforts were on to identify the persons who sent the email.

Begumpet Airport has been handling chartered flights and military operations since 2008, when the commercial operations were shifted to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad on the city outskirts.

The bomb threat to Begumpet Airport comes amid a spate of threats to airports and flights in the country.

On June 5, a Hyderabad-bound Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt returned to the German airport after a bomb threat was received at the Hyderabad airport.

Authorities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport received a bomb threat email at 6.01 p.m. on June 15. According to officials, a bomb threat assessment committee was formed, and all procedures were followed as per SOP. In the interest of safety, the airline was advised to divert back to the origin or the nearest suitable airport.

Later, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad received a message that the flight was returning to Frankfurt.

The flight took off from Frankfurt airport around 2.15 p.m. It had not entered the Indian airspace when it returned. Two hours into its journey, Flight LH752 returned and safely landed at Frankfurt airport.

–IANS

ms/vd