Just as Indian aviation was preparing for its peak winter schedule, the airlines were gripped with bomb threats and hoax e-mails and call, disrupting the flight schedules, holiday plans and thousands of passengers. Airlines in India received a staggering 994 hoax bomb threat calls in 2024, the minster of state for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol informed Parliament.
The minister was responding to MP Kartikeya Sharma’s question regarding hoax bomb threats. The minister revealed that a total of 1,143 such threats were recorded between August 2022 and November 13, 2024.
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Going ahead, the minister said that as many as 27 hoax bomb threat calls were received between August and December 2022. This number increased to 122 in 2023, while the current year alone witnessed a sharp rise, with 994 calls reported as of mid-November 2024
“These threats are received randomly and are not concentrated in any specific location,” Mohol added.
Meanwhile the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the aviation security regulator has implemented robust protocols under its Bomb Threat Contingency Plan (BTCP) to address such incidents in future.
“As part of the BTCP, every airport has a designated Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) tasked with evaluating and addressing the threats. Hoax bomb calls disrupt flight operations, affecting airlines, airports, and other stakeholders,” Mohol said.
The BCAS has also issued advisories to streamline security protocols and prevent unlawful interference with civil aviation. “These measures aim to ensure passenger safety while minimizing operational disruptions caused by such malicious activities,” the minister concluded.
Bomb threats led to domestic and international travel chaos in October and November 2024 with airlines grounding and diverting planes. Some flights were escorted to safety by fighter jets while some reached their destinations safely. However, the threats created panic among air passengers.
Heightened security measures were enforced at most airports shortly after the first spate of threats surfaced in the second week of October. Investigating agencies quickly began probes to trace and determine the sources.
Sources have revealed that most of the hoax bomb threats originated from outside the country. “Up to 80% of the threats this month came from abroad,” Mohol said.
The Indian government is also planning to introduce stricter legislative measures to tackle the growing trend of bomb threats, including a law to categorize such threat-making as a criminal offense with the accused facing prosecution and the offenders being placed on no-fly lists. India earlier, also sent a warning to social media platforms, including X, calling the spread of the threats “dangerously unrestrained.”