In view of the scores of fake bomb threats to flights of Indian airlines, the criteria for threat assessment has been added with more layers and the agencies are now being highly selective in declaring such threats as “specific”, which triggers a detailed security protocol for the affected flights, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told The Indian Express. The bomb threat security protocols often disrupt airline operations and cause them financial losses, lead to hardships for passengers, and put the aviation security infrastructure under stress.
Cyber experts from government departments and intelligence agencies have been roped in and centralised coordination between airport-specific Bomb Threat Assessment Committees (BTAC) is also being done to take informed calls on such threats, per sources. The revised criteria that was put in place a few days ago includes considerations like whether the threat was posted from an anonymous social media account that has threatened multiple flights in one go, and whether a VIP was on board the aircraft.
Officials declined to elaborate further on the criteria and the decision-making process, saying that the details are a sensitive operational matter.
It is worth noting that over the past few days, despite the surge in such threats, the number of diversions and initiation of post-landing bomb threat protocols has been miniscule. This contrasts with the initial days of such threats being posted, which saw numerous flight diversions, delays, and even cancellations.
The current spate of bomb hoaxes to Indian airlines’ flights started on October 14. Since then, over 500 flights have received threats, a vast majority posted from anonymous and unverified social media handles. All such threats so far have turned out to be fake. Given the trend, the government is of the view that such threats should be dealt with in a manner that minimises flight disruptions without compromising on security and safety.
When a threat is received, the BTAC of the designated airport is tasked with assessing the threat and classifying it as specific or non-specific. If the threat is classified as specific, a detailed security protocol is followed, which could include diverting the aircraft to a suitable nearby airport and entails strict security checks of passengers, cargo, and the aircraft itself upon landing. In case of a “non-specific threat”, no immediate action is taken. BTAC members include representatives of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), local police, the airline concerned, and the airport operator, among others.
“Initially, most of the threats posted on social media were being deemed as specific threats if they mentioned specific flight numbers. That is not the case anymore. In our experience of the past few days, most of these unfounded threats are now being classified as non-specific by the BTACs. The assessment now has more criteria, inputs, and additional layers,” said a senior airline official, who did not wish to be identified.
In an interaction with journalists on October 21, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu had said that while all requisite norms are being followed the BCAS and BTACs were keeping the process “dynamic” based on the learnings in recent cases.
“They have been coming up with different processes so that it gets a little easier to address these kinds of situations from our side, not to say that we are easing down the whole process of assessing…We are keeping it very dynamic. We are not keeping ourselves rigid in terms of the guidelines and are assessing and learning from what has been happening. The BCAS also has been innovative in their approach, and this is in thorough consultation and coordination with all the necessary agencies, be it the MHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) or airport level security officers,” Naidu had said, adding that all threats are being assessed on a case-by-case basis.