Over a dozen bomb threats disrupt Indian flights: What we know so far

A teenager was arrested for allegedly posting the threats on social media

Web Desk

Published: Wed 16 Oct 2024, 10:47 AM

Last updated: Thu 17 Oct 2024, 4:27 PM

India's aviation authorities are on high alert after a spate of hoax bomb threats disrupted several flights over the past few days.

More than a dozen fake bomb threats were made against flights operated by multiple Indian air services this week, prompting government and civil aviation authorities to warn that "very strict action" will be taken.

At least 10 bomb scares were recorded on Monday and Tuesday alone. Many of them were posted on social media by unverified users, whose accounts were already suspended.

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Minor arrested

Police in India's financial capital Mumbai have arrested a minor for allegedly posting online bomb threats to three flights earlier this week, India's aviation minister said.

"Strongly condemn the recent bomb threats to Indian air carriers. We are closely monitoring the situation and ensuring that every necessary measure is taken against such actions," Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, the country's civil aviation minister, said in a post on X on Wednesday.

The minor, meaning below the age of 18, allegedly had a fight with a friend; so, he created an X account in the name of this pal and posted the threats in an attempt to get him in trouble, according to reports on Indian media outlets.

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"We are taking up all the calls and also informed concerned police officers regarding the threat to identify the person behind it," an Indian airport security officer said in a previous report.

It remained unclear where the other threats were coming from. Some were believed to have originated from London but others were "from other countries", another officer said.

Every threat is being taken seriously in the interest of public safety, the authorities added. So far, all the "warnings" were found to be bogus and, upon thorough security checks, no explosives were seen on the planes.

Here are latest bomb scare incidents on Indian flights:

An Air India Express plane on its way to Singapore had to be escorted by two air force fighter jets on Tuesday night following an e-mail warning that said there was a bomb on board.
A Lucknow-bound IndiGo flight from Dammam in Saudi Arabia was redirected to Jaipur after a security alert on Tuesday.
A Delhi-Chicago Air India flight was diverted to Canada on Tuesday due to a security threat that was posted online. All passengers and the aircraft were re-screened as part of safety protocols.
An Air India flight from Mumbai to New York was diverted to Delhi on Monday following security concerns.
Two IndiGo flights had to be taken to an isolated bay on Monday due to a threat. Both were supposed to take off from Mumbai. One of them was set to go to Muscat and the other to Jeddah.
An Akasa Air flight, which was flying from India's capital New Delhi to the southern city of Bengaluru, "received a security alert" and the flight was ordered to return as a "precaution".
India's Vistara airline said it received a "security threat" targeting its passenger jet that was flying from Frankfurt to Mumbai on Wednesday. The plane landed safely at its planned destination.

'Extremely serious'

US authorities were also looking into the situation that raised concerns about the safety of commercial aviation.

"Any kinds of threats against commercial aviation are inappropriate and matters that are dealt with extremely seriously by our own law enforcement agencies," Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

In a statement, Air India acknowledged that a number of threats had struck local airlines in recent days.

"Though all have subsequently been found to be hoaxes, as a responsible airline operator, all threats are taken seriously," it said on Tuesday.

The airline is now working with the authorities to identify the people behind the threats and make sure they are held accountable "for the disruption and inconvenience caused to passengers".

Legal action will be considered against those responsible "to recover damages incurred by the airline", Air India said.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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