UPDATE: The plane took off from the Indian capital to Kathmandu at 6:15pm local time after a delay of about five hours.

KATHMANDU: A bomb hoax in New Delhi of India forced the Jet Airways to stop its aircraft, which was about to take off for Kathmandu, on Monday afternoon.

According to the Tehalka, the 9W-260 flight was stopped at the Indira Gandhi International Airport after "after an anonymous caller said that there was a gift box on seat 18 of the plane."

"The caller did not specify the exact seat and ended the call by saying Happy Republic Day," the report said.

India is celebrating the Republic Day on Tuesday.

All of the passengers and crew were disembarked from the aircraft and taken to the departure waiting area, while plane was taken to the isolation bay.

During search operations, no explosives were found on board.

The flight, scheduled for 1:25pm with 104 passengers and seven crew on board, was delayed due to the hoax.

The Asian News International said a bomb threat assessment committee was formed for the probe.