25 more flights get bomb threats on Sunday; nearly 100 hoax calls in a week

IndiGo, Vistara, Akasa Air and Air India and Akasa Air are among the airlines that received bomb threats

PTI

Mumbai/New Delhi, Updated At : 11:29 PM Oct 20, 2024 IST

Security personnel keep a vigil after a flight made an emergency landing at Jodhpur airport, in Jodhpur on October 20, 2024. PTI

As many as 25 flights of Indian airlines received bomb threats on Sunday, causing hardships to hundreds of passengers and forcing authorities to move scores of planes to isolation bays at airports concerned for detailed checks.

The developments came a day after more than 30 flights of various Indian carriers received bomb threats. This week, nearly 100 flights received threats sending security agencies into a tizzy. The threats later turned out to be hoaxes.

Six flights each of IndiGo, Vistara, Air India and Akasa Air, and at least one flight of Air India Express received the threats on Sunday, according to sources.

In separate statements, an IndiGo spokesperson said the airline is cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 58 (Jeddah to Mumbai), 6E87 (Kozhikode to Dammam), 6E11 (Delhi to Istanbul), 6E17 (Mumbai to Istanbul), 6E133 (Pune to Jodhpur) and 6E112 operating (Goa to Ahmedabad).

Passengers of these flights disembarked safely.

Vistara said it got security threats for six flights—UK25 (Delhi to Frankfurt), UK106 (Singapore to Mumbai), UK146 (Bali to Delhi), UK116 (Singapore to Delhi), UK110 (Singapore to Pune) and UK107 (Mumbai to Singapore).

“In line with the protocols, all relevant authorities were immediately notified, and security procedures, as directed by them, are being carried out,” a Vistara spokesperson said in a statement.

Security alerts were received for six Akasa Air flights -- QP1102 (Ahmedabad to Mumbai), QP 1378 (Delhi to Goa), QP 1385 (Mumbai to Bagdogra), QP 1406 (Delhi to Hyderabad), QP 1519 (Kochi to Mumbai) and QP 1526 (Lucknow to Mumbai).

“Following defined procedures and thorough inspections of six aircraft, they have been released for operations,” an Akasa Air spokesperson said in a statement.

The sources also said there were threats for at least six flights of Air India flights. There was no comment from the airline.

An Air India Express flight IX481 from Kochi to Dammam received the bomb threat and the flight landed safely at Dammam, the sources said.

On Sunday, a handle on social media platform X that had issued bomb threats to some flights was blocked.

Against the backdrop of bomb threats, mostly through social media, to airlines, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) held a meeting with representatives of airlines on Saturday.

The civil aviation ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators in the no-fly list.