17 Indian flights receive bomb threats in three days

At least 17 flights operated by Indian carriers have received bomb threats in the past three days. Seven such threats were reported on Wednesday.

All threats reported on Monday and Tuesday had eventually turned out to be hoaxes.

An Akasa aircraft en route to Bengaluru from Delhi returned to the national capital after receiving a bomb threat on Wednesday, ANI reported.

“Akasa Air flight QP 1335, flying from Delhi to Bengaluru on October 16, 2024, and carrying 174 passengers, three infants and seven crew members on board, received a security alert,” said an unidentified Akasa Air spokesperson.

The spokesperson added: “Akasa Air will continue to monitor the situation in coordination with the local authorities.”

Two SpiceJet aircraft and four IndiGo flights – Riyadh to Mumbai, Mumbai to Singapore, Chennai to Lucknow and Mumbai to Delhi – also received bomb threats during the day.

A direct message was received on SpiceJet’s handle on the social media platform X regarding a bomb threat related to two flights, said an unidentified spokesperson from the airline, ANI reported.

“The concerned authorities were immediately informed and the laid down safety protocols were followed,” the spokesperson said. “Passengers on both aircraft disembarked safely.”

The two flights resumed operations after receiving necessary approvals from the concerned authorities, the spokesperson added.

IndiGo said that the Riyadh to Mumbai was redirected to Muscat due to a “security-related alert”, The Indian Express reported. “The aircraft has been isolated, and all passengers have been safely disembarked,” the airline added.

IndiGo said that it was also working with the relevant authorities and following standard operating procedures with regard to the bomb threats received on the Mumbai-Singapore and the Chennai-Lucknow flights.

Another IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Delhi was redirected to Ahmedabad due to a similar threat. The aircraft was isolated and all passengers were safely disembarked, an unidentified spokesperson from the airline said.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday sought a report from the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the bomb threats over the past two days, according to ANI.

The ministry instructed the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Central Industrial Security Force, the Bureau of Civil Aviation, the National Investigation Agency and the Intelligence Bureau to submit a report on the matter, an unidentified official said.

On Tuesday, threats were issued to an Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago, an Air India Express flight from Madurai to Singapore and an IndiGo flight from Saudi Arabia’s Dammam to Lucknow.

The Air India aircraft bound for Chicago was forced to make an emergency landing in the remote Canadian city of Iqaluit as a precautionary measure.

The 211 passengers and crew onboard the aircraft disembarked at the airport located about 300 kms north of the Arctic circle, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said. According to local media in Iqaluit, an “unspecified bomb threat from a person in India to Air India” was relayed to the flight’s captain.

The aircraft was re-screened as per the security protocol, Air India said.

“Air India notes that it, and other local airlines, have been subject to a number of threats in recent days,” the airline added. “Though all have subsequently been found to be hoaxes, as a responsible operator all threats are taken seriously.”

The Air India spokesperson said the carrier is considering legal action against those responsible for the fake threats and the financial losses it incurred.

Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s emergency preparedness minister, said that “the city of Iqaluit is not equipped to house these passengers” and that he had approved a request for resources of the Canadian Armed Forces to be used to “send passengers safely to their destination in Chicago”.

The Air India Express aircraft flying from Madurai to Singapore was escorted out to the sea, away from populated areas of the city-state, by two fighter jets of the Singapore Air Force, as per the procedure. It safely landed at Singapore’s Changi airport after 10 pm.

An investigation had been launched into the threat, Singapore’s defence minister Ng Eng Hen said.

On domestic routes, an Alliance Air flight from Amritsar to Dehradun, an Air India Express flight from Jaipur to Bengaluru via Ayodhya, a SpiceJet Darbhanga-Mumbai flight and an Akasa Air flight from Bagdogra to Bengaluru received threats.

The flights were cleared for operations after security checks.

On Monday, similar threats were issued to an Air India flight from Mumbai to New York.

On the same day, two IndiGo flights operating on the routes connecting Mumbai to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and Muscat, Oman also received threats.

These were declared hoaxes by the security agencies, The Hindu reported.

The IndiGo aircraft was taken to an isolated bay and mandatory security checks were conducted, the Business Standard quoted the airline as saying. The flight then departed from Mumbai again at about 1.15 pm following an 11-hour delay.

The IndiGo flight to Muscat was also taken to an isolated bay for security checks. It left Mumbai again at about 9.15 am after a seven-hour delay.

The civil aviation ministry convened a high-level meeting with the Bureau of Civil Aviation, the Central Industrial Security Force and senior airport security officers, ANI quoted unidentified officials as saying.

The Central Industrial Security Force, which reports to the Union Home Ministry, provides security to all commercial airports in India.