The menace of hoax bomb threat calls to airlines continued on Sunday, with more than 24 flights of IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air and Vistara flights receiving fresh bomb threats messages. This affected both domestic and international flights, scaring air passengers in the festive season. Six flights each of IndiGo, Vistara and Air India received the threats. So far this week, more than 90 flights have received bomb threats and most of them have turned out to be hoaxes. The overall impact of these hoax threats has resulted in financial losses of up to Rs 100 crore for various airlines.
IndiGo released a series of press statements sharing details of the bomb threat received by the flights. In its statement, IndiGo confirmed the airline is cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 58 (Jeddah to Mumbai), 6E87 (Kozhikode to Dammam), 6E11 (Delhi to Istanbul), 6E17 (Mumbai to Istanbul), 6E133 (Pune to Jodhpur) and 6E112 operating (Goa to Ahmedabad).
Security alerts were received for six Akasa Air flights - QP 1102 (Ahmedabad to Mumbai), QP 1378 (Delhi to Goa), QP 1385 (Mumbai to Bagdogra), QP 1406 (Delhi to Hyderabad), QP 1519 (Kochi to Mumbai) and QP 1526 (Lucknow to Mumbai).
Vistara said it got security threats for six flights - UK25 (Delhi to Frankfurt), UK106 (Singapore to Mumbai), UK146 (Bali to Delhi), UK116 (Singapore to Delhi), UK110 (Singapore to Pune) and UK107 (Mumbai to Singapore). “In line with the protocols, all relevant authorities were immediately notified, and security procedures, as directed by them, are being carried out,” a Vistara spokesperson said in a statement.
The sources also said there were threats for at least six flights of Air India flights. There was no comment from the airline.
On Saturday, more than 30 flights operated by various Indian airlines reportedly received bomb threats. The airlines that got the bomb threats include Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Vistara, SpiceJet, Star Air, and Alliance Air. The latest series of hoax calls comes a day after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) met with airline CEOs on October 19 after multiple flights received at least 70 hoax bomb threats in the past week.
The ongoing investigation of hoax bomb threats to domestic and international flights has revealed that nearly 70 percent were from a single source: an anonymous and unverified account on X that posted threats to 46 domestic and international flights of Indian carriers in two days. Amid the wave of hoax bomb threats to Indian airlines, with as many as 70 such posts made during the past week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Vikram Dev Dutt has been transferred to the Ministry of Coal as Secretary.
Sources said the X handle-@adamlanza1111 - made 12 threats on Friday night and 34 on Saturday. The user also began posting threats to international carriers such as American Airlines, Jet Blue, and Air New Zealand. The posts had an identical message: “There are bombs onboard five of your planes… No one will make out alive. Hurry up and evacuate the plane.” Some of the flights were airborne when the threats were posted, while others had already completed their journey.
The threats, which have caused widespread disruptions and forced emergency procedures, have mostly turned out to be false alarms. However, they have left airlines and authorities scrambling to ensure passenger safety, while investigating the sources of the threats. Among the airlines most affected are Air India Express, Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, and Akasa Air, with each reporting multiple security scares.
