Amid rumors of bombs on several flights for the past several days, at least 95 flights of IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, SpiceJet, Alliance Air and Akasa Air received similar threats on Thursday. Additionally, more than 250 flights have been affected by these threats in the last 10 days.According to officials, 25 flights of Akasa Air, 20 each of Air India, IndiGo and Vistara and five flights each of SpiceJet and Alliance Air received bomb threats.
Before today’s incident, more than 170 flights had received bomb threats, the majority of which came from social media platforms. They were later proven false, causing inconvenience to hundreds of passengers and creating security concerns for paramilitary forces and aviation officials.
Bomb threats have prompted the government to plan to put those making hoax calls on a no-fly list. Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said that making hoax bomb threat calls to airlines will be considered a cognizable offence.The affected flights include services of Akasa Air, Air India, IndiGo and Vistara operating from Delhi and other locations across the country to various domestic and international destinations.
Delhi Police has registered eight cases in connection with the bomb threats and according to a senior police officer, the threatening messages were received through anonymous posts on X which were later suspended by the authorities.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) held a meeting with CEOs and representatives of airlines in Delhi on October 19 on this issue.Earlier on Wednesday, the central government slammed social media giant X over its handling of the situation, saying it amounted to “promoting crime”.
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In an exclusive interview with Rajdeep Sardesai, Consulting Editor, India Today TV, Ram Mohan Naidu on Wednesday said the government is following all necessary protocols and is in control of the situation.
Asked whether these threats were part of a larger conspiracy, the minister urged caution, saying, “I will not take any hasty decision on this. We should wait until a complete investigation is done. Once we have this “We will find out who is behind this, only then will we be able to tell whether there is a conspiracy or some intention regarding the festive season or an attempt to influence the airlines.”
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The Civil Aviation Minister stressed the involvement of social media and cyber channels in these threats, saying that although many IP addresses may point to foreign locations, they can be re-routed through VPNs, complicating the investigation. Might be possible. He said, “It is not my jurisdiction to tell where it is coming from; the intelligence agency, the essential departments, they are all investigating it.” However, he reassured the public that “we are taking all necessary efforts to ensure that our skies remain safe”.