The deluge of hoax bomb threats slowed down a bit on Friday with around 25 domestic and international flights operated by Indian carriers receiving bomb threats. Seven flights each from IndiGo, Vistara, and SpiceJet received threats, while six Air India flights were targeted. The barrage of threat messages have left civil aviation stakeholders alarmed and disrupted operations as most major airports over the past two weeks.
Thousands of passengers have also been forced to contend with extensive delays as the warnings forced officials to undertake thorough inspections. Some planes were also forced to make emergency landings after receiving bomb threats in mid-air.
The number of hoaxes has increased the airlines’ burden as a number of flights have had to be diverted, delayed, or subjected to searches after posts on social media said they had bombs on board. Some threats have also led to much more serious situations.
For example, last Thursday, an Air India flight from Mumbai to London was intercepted by Royal Air Force fighter jets after receiving a bomb threat.
Two days before that, Singapore Armed Forces scrambled two fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane, which took off from Madurai, away from populated areas following a bomb threat. On Tuesday, the Nepalese Army rushed its bomb squad to the Kathmandu airport after a Vistara flight from Delhi got a bomb threat.
Unknown miscreants threatened to blow up Indigo flight 6E133 from Pune to Jodhpur on Wednesday - for the second time this week. The plane landed at the isolation bay of Jodhpur airport before being searched by police and CISF officials. A bomb disposal squad and a dog squad were also called to the scene. Officials said passengers’ luggage as well as every nook and corner of the flight was thoroughly searched before the plane was allowed to take off for its further destination.
An IndiGo spokesperson said that among the flights targeted were: 6E 87 (Kozhikode to Dammam), 6E 2099 (Udaipur to Delhi), 6E 11 (Delhi to Istanbul), 6E 58 (Jeddah to Mumbai), 6E 17 (Mumbai to Istanbul), 6E 108 (Hyderabad to Chandigarh) and 6E 133 (Pune to Jodhpur).
“Flight 6E 2099, operating from Udaipur to Delhi, received a bomb threat. Following security agency guidelines, the aircraft was redirected to the isolation bay before take-off and standard operating procedures were followed. All passengers were safely disembarked,” the airline spokesperson said in a statement.
In 12 days, more than 275 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats. Most of the threats were issued through social media.
