Hoax bomb callers have continued to target commercial flights and premium hotels across the country, causing significant financial losses and delays. At least 50 flights belonging to Akasa Air, IndiGo, and Vistara received bomb threats on Sunday. So far, more than 350 flights have received hoax bomb threats in the last 14 days.
In some cases, the threats were issued to flights that had already been operated for the day or were not scheduled to operate. Besides, dozens of premium hotels in four states-West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh have also received threat messages in the past three days, prompting the security agencies to launch search operations. Most of the threats were issued through social media.
In the backdrop of worrying trends of hoax threat messages to airlines, the government is taking support from international agencies, law enforcement wings and the Intelligence Bureau to prevent these fake threats. Intelligence sources said there is an attempt to hit the economy via the aviation sector and the hospitality sector during the festive season. Meanwhile, airlines and passengers remain in a state of uncertainty due to these hoax call messages. According to sources, IndiGo received threats for 18 flights and Vistara for 17 flights. Akasa Air received threats for 15 flights.
At least two IndiGo flights were diverted following threats. Its flight 6E 133 (Pune to Jodhpur) was diverted to Ahmedabad and 6E 87 (Kozhikode to Dammam) was diverted to Mumbai. According to an IndiGo statement, the flights that received security-related alerts include 6E 11 (Delhi-Istanbul), 6E 92 (Jeddah-Mumbai), 6E 112 (Goa-Ahmedabad), 6E 125 (Bengaluru-Jharsuguda), 6E 127 (Amritsar-Ahmedabad) and 6E 135 (Kolkata-Pune).
Among others flights targeted were 6E 149 (Hyderabad to Bagdogra), 6E 173 (Delhi to Bengaluru), 6E 175 (Bengaluru to Delhi), 6E 197 (Raipur to Hyderabad), 6E 248 (Mumbai to Kolkata), 6E 277 (Ahmedabad-Lucknow), 6E 312 (Bengaluru to Kolkata), 6E 235 (Kolkata-Bengaluru) and 6E 74 (Riyadh-Mumbai).
Akasa Air issued a statement, confirming in a brief that its Emergency Response Team is actively monitoring the situation and is in contact with security and regulatory authorities. "We are following all safety and security procedures in coordination with local authorities, and the Akasa Air teams on ground are prepared to assist passengers to ensure their safety and comfort," read Akasa Air's statement posted on X. This has created a panic among air passengers amid the ongoing festive season.
According to Akasa Air, on Sunday, a bomb threat was reported on a flight enroute from Bengaluru to Delhi via Gorakhpur, which was found to be a hoax after inspection. During a thorough inspection at the Gorakhpur airport, no suspicious item was found, Gorakhpur Airport director RK Parasher said.The flight landed in Gorakhpur at 1.33 pm and the door opened at 1.50 pm. The aircraft was carrying 174 passengers and three infants. The inspection of the aircraft and the passengers continued till 2.42 pm and the flight took off at 3.43 pm for Delhi, Parasher said.
Ahead of the plane's arrival, the airport saw a high-security response, with police, Indian Air Force, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad, fire brigade, and medical teams arriving on the site.
Senior officials also rushed to the scene to manage the situation, he said.Passengers were safely evacuated, and a thorough inspection of the aircraft was conducted, revealing no suspicious items. Following the all-clear, the flight continued its journey to Delhi.
Responding to a query after formally inaugurating two flights Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada, Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Sunday said the government is taking support from international agencies, law enforcement wings and the Intelligence Bureau to prevent these fake threats. "The investigation is going on," he added.
Meanwhile, a total 35 hotels and a temple also received bomb threat messages, these include 10 premium hotels in Lucknow, 10 hotels in Rajkot, 10 in Kolkata and several hotels and a temple in Tirupati. These hoax threats were made in the past three days.
An email sent to a hotel threatened that explosions would take place if a ransom demand of USD 55,000 (Rs 4,624,288) was not met. "Bombs are hidden in black bags on the grounds of your hotel. I want USD 55,000, or I will detonate the explosives and blood will spill everywhere. Any attempt at defusing the bombs will detonate them," read the threat email.
Against the backdrop of a spate of hoax bomb threats to airlines, the IT Ministry has asked social media platforms to observe due diligence obligations and promptly remove or disable access to misinformation within the strict timelines prescribed under IT rules. Meanwhile, the civil aviation ministry is looking to take legislative actions to tackle the menace of the hoax bomb threats to airlines.
On Saturday, Delhi police had arrested a 25-year-old unemployed man for making hoax bomb threats, marking only the second arrest since a spate of such threats began being issued to airlines last week. According to police, the man admitted to making the threats to draw attention to himself after seeing reports of similar calls on television.
A case was registered and investigations revealed that the account belonged to Shubham Upadhyay from Rajapuri in west Delhi's Uttam Nagar area. Upadhyay was arrested and, on being questioned, revealed that he had made the threats to garner attention after seeing reports of similar calls on TV.
On October 16, the Mumbai Police had taken a 17-year-old school dropout from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh into custody for threats made to four flights on October 14. After a dispute with a friend over money, the teenager had allegedly created an X handle in his name and made threats to frame him. Of the four flights to which the boy had issued the threats, two were delayed - including Air India flight AI 119 from Mumbai to New York, which was diverted to New Delhi - and one had to be cancelled.
