NEW DELHI: Eleven flights have received bomb threats in less than 24 hours, adding to the long list of hoax calls received by airlines this week, leading to an unprecedented scare in the security establishment. A Vistara flight (UK17) from Delhi to London was diverted to Frankfurt in Germany after a bomb threat. A Jaipur-Dubai Air India Express flight (IX 196) was threatened, which turned out to be hoax. Meanwhile, five Akasa Air flights and five IndiGo flights received bomb threats today.
A bomb threat to a Dubai-Jaipur Air India Express flight led to the Jaipur-Dubai (IX 195) flight being delayed in taking off from the airport. The flight was scheduled for 6:10 am today, but it departed for Dubai at 7:45 am. The flight is headed towards its destination. Meanwhile, the Vistara flight that was diverted to Frankfurt later left for London.
The spokesperson said, “Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024 received a security threat on social media. As per protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed and as a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt.”
Akasa Air said, “Some of our flights scheduled to operate on October 19, 2024 have received security alerts today. “As per safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deboarded as local authorities followed the required procedures. “We request you to understand this as our team on the ground made every effort to minimise inconvenience,” the airline added.
An Akasa Air flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai received a bomb threat shortly before take-off. The airline said in a statement, “Flight QP 1366, flying from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday, received a security alert shortly before departure. However, as per SOP, the aircraft was thoroughly checked for security at Mumbai airport. No objectionable object of any kind was found. After this, after security checks, the aircraft was given NOC for flight. Late on Friday evening, the plane took off from Mumbai to Bengaluru with a delay of several hours. At least 50 flights have received such threats since Monday, after which the Civil Aviation Ministry and authorities have implemented strict rules to deal with such situations. Sources earlier told NDTV that airlines have been briefed on the situation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suggested that several steps be taken, such as putting fake callers on a no-fly list for five years. Airlines suggest that the losses they have suffered due to fake bomb threats should be compensated by the accused. What did the Civil Aviation Minister say Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu on Thursday said initial investigations did not point to any conspiracy and most of the calls were made by “minors and miscreants”. The Mumbai police on Wednesday detained a 17-year-old boy who had threatened four flights on Monday, three of them on international routes. The teenager wanted to trap a friend with whom he had a monetary dispute, officials had said. Mr Naidu also said his department was considering changes in rules and laws to ensure that such false bomb calls do not take place in future. “We cannot comment on any conspiracy, but whatever we know, it (threats) is coming from minors or some miscreants. For very small things, they are trying to threaten on social media or through phone calls. So these are isolated incidents, there is no conspiracy that we can comment on,” the minister said on Thursday. Mr Naidu said steps were being taken to ensure that “a strong deterrent is created for those trying to commit such mischief” and his department was making changes in the rules and regulations to achieve this.
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