Indian airlines face bomb threats frequently, and, thankfully, almost all of them are fake. However, the last two days saw a surge in such threats targeting multiple airlines and both domestic and international flights, some of which had to be diverted and escorted by military aircraft. The country’s aviation ministry has taken this seriously and called for a high-level meeting to identify the sources behind these threats.
Multiple bomb threats in a day
The Indian aviation space was rattled with multiple bomb threats on Tuesday, causing confusion and chaos and triggering high-security protocols, leading to inconvenience to both airlines and passengers.
These come just days after a New York-bound Air India
Boeing 777 was diverted to New Delhi. The plane was operating on the Mumbai-New York sector and was
flown back to Delhi as a precaution
.
Photo: viper-zero | Shutterstock
Another Air India US-bound plane was targeted on Tuesday when a Delhi-Chicago Boeing 777 flight received a bomb threat. The aircraft had completed most of its journey and had to be diverted to Canada’s Iqaluit airport. Air India said that it had activated agencies at the airport to assist the passengers.
A Singapore-bound Air India Express
flight was in a similar situation when a bomb threat forced the activation of Singapore’s Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD), and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams.
The plane was escorted away from populated areas and landed at Singapore Changi Airport a little after 22:00 local time. After it made a landing at the airport, the law enforcement officials took charge and started their investigation.
Related
Singapore Military Jets Escort Air India Express Following Bomb Threat
This follows a string of bomb threats that have been made to Indian airlines over the last few days.
Akasa Air, IndiGo, and SpiceJet face threats, too
Almost all major airlines in the country were targeted on Tuesday when hoax bomb threats caused authorities to follow protocols in such situations. Including the incidents mentioned above, a total of seven threats were made on Tuesday, although some reports quote anonymous sources that as many as ten threats were received. In all, the following flights had confirmed bomb threats on Tuesday:
- Air India Delhi-Chicago
- Air India Express Jaipur-Ayodhya
- IndiGo Dammam-Lucknow Flight
- IndiGo Bengaluru-Dehradun flight, which was diverted to Chandigarh
- Akasa Air Bagdogra-Bengaluru flight
- Air India Express Madurai-Singapore Flight
- SpiceJet Darbhanga-Mumbai Flight
Photo: BoeingMan777 | Shutterstock
High-level meeting by aviation ministry
A bomb threat to a commercial aircraft is taken quite seriously, and several protocols are in place for such situations. The aircraft is often escorted to a remote location at the airport, and all passengers and their baggage are thoroughly examined.
Photo: ANAND G IYER | Shutterstock
But so many bomb threats in a day have forced authorities to sit up and take notice, with the country’s Ministry of Civil Aviation calling for a high-level meeting with security agencies. Threats were received on social media and via email, and sources have said that some may have come from offshore locations as well. ANA quotes a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer as saying,
“We have identified and suspended several accounts that were posting threats on social media regarding bombs in airplanes. It has been informed some threats were originated from London and from other countries.”