Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday announced the government’s plans to make hoax threats being given to Indian airlines as a cognisable offence, after more than 100 flights received bomb threats in a week’s time.

Furthermore, Naidu also said that subject to legislation norms, the government also intends to amend two civil aviation safety acts and add hoax callers to ‘no flyers list’.

Notably, in the last week, eight flights were diverted owing to the fake threats.

“From the Ministry, we have thought of some legislative action if it is required. We have come to the conclusion that there are two areas that we can explore – 1) Amendment in Aircraft Security Rules…one of the ideas that we want to propagate by changing these rules is that once we catch hold of the perpetrator who is behind this, we want to put them in the no-flying list… 2) Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act,” the TDP leader said addressing the media.

Earlier on Monday, ET reported that the government is planning to revamp rules on the response to bomb threats against flights after a spate of hoaxes have led to widespread disruption and cascading delays.


Along with heightened security screenings of passenger and cargo, including secondary ladder-point checks of hand luggage before boarding, there will be more precise assessments so that not all threat messages lead to an immediate landing and aircraft can continue their journey.The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is continuously in touch with the Ministry of Home Affairs on the situation of bomb threats to flights, Naidu said. “While we are trying to tackle the situation efficiently, we are prioritising security and safety.”

(More to come)

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