Flight-tracking data points to Air India Express aircraft in Varanasi airport shooting incident
The aircraft associated with IX-1810 has been identified from tracking data as VT-BWI, a detail no official record has yet confirmed, after two screeners were injured during security screening at Varanasi on 16 August 2026.
2 reports on this incident · first at Aug 17, 2026, 10:29 a.m. ET
This is a developing story. Details reported early are provisional and are frequently revised. Where sources disagree, both readings are given.
We last searched for new coverage of this at Aug 18, 2026, 7:08 a.m. ET — checked 2h ago.
Earlier reports
Aug 17, 2026, 10:29 a.m. ETFirst report
Two screeners injured during security check of declared pistol at Varanasi airport
Two security screeners were injured at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Varanasi at around 9.30 am on Saturday, August 16, 2026, during the screening of a firearm carried by a passenger booked on Air India Express flight IX-1810, The New Indian Express reported. The situation is developing.
According to that report, the passenger had declared a licensed 7.62 mm pistol with 21 live cartridges at the check-in counter. The outlet reported two people injured, naming the two injured screeners as Rohit Raj and Suman Kumari, both employed by AAICLAS. Officials identified the passenger as Kamlesh Kedarnath Rai, a resident of Azamgarh district, the newspaper said.
What caused the discharge has not been determined. The civil aviation ministry said the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is examining the circumstances leading to the incident, including whether prescribed procedures were followed, and that the passenger has been detained for investigation. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Gomti Zone, is also involved in the inquiry, according to The New Indian Express.
Airport operations continued without disruption, the outlet reported.
The aircraft assigned to the flight has not been identified in any official record. Flight tracking-derived information points to the registration VT-BWI; no official record has confirmed that identification.
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Reference data
From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.
- Terrain elevation
- 259 ft
- Nearest aerodrome
- 12 miles SE of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport (VEBN/VNS)
Sources
Revision history
- Version 117 Aug 2026, 14:35current
First published.
- Version 117 Aug 2026, 14:29current
First published.
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