‘Bomb scare call’ halts Biman flight to Nepal before take-off

Security forces at Dhaka airport have searched the aircraft but found no explosives

A Nepal-bound Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight has been halted moments before take-off after an anonymous call warned of a “bomb” onboard at Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport.

The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, prompting an immediate search of the Boeing 737-800 shortly before its scheduled 4:45pm take-off. No explosives were found during the inspection.

Biman spokesperson ABM Rowshan Kabir said the aircraft was taxiing with all 142 passengers and seven crew members onboard when an anonymous call reached the control tower.

“Just before take-off, a call came in claiming a bomb had been planted on the flight,” he added. “It was stopped immediately.”

According to him, passengers were evacuated and moved to the terminal lounge for safety, while the airport’s bomb disposal unit began a full search of the plane.

Airport Executive Director SM Ragib Samad confirmed that the alert was triggered by a call received at 4:26pm.

“Emergency protocols were activated,” he said. “The Air Force’s taskforce and AVSEC swiftly set up a security perimeter around the aircraft.

“Bomb disposal experts from the Bangladesh Air Force and the [Armed Police Battalion’s] dog squad arrived on the scene.”

Ragib added that the Rapid Action Battalion’s (RAB) bomb disposal team later joined the operation, conducting searches inside the aircraft and in its luggage compartment.

By 7:45pm, after a full sweep, Rowshan confirmed that the threat had been a “hoax”.

“Nothing suspicious was found. It was a fake call. Passengers are now being reboarded, and the flight will leave for Kathmandu once boarding is complete.”

Ragib noted that all other airport operations, including take-offs and landings, continued as normal.

“The situation remained fully under control throughout,” he said.