More than 100 Indian flights receive bomb threats in one day

More than 100 Indian Airlines flights received bomb threats on Tuesday, part of a series in which more than 510 domestic and international flights have faced such fake threats in the past 16 days, mostly from social media, raising aviation security concerns.

Air India has received bomb threats for around 36 flights, IndiGo for around 35 flights and Vistara for 32 flights, PTI quoted sources as saying.

“According to the established protocols, the relevant authorities were immediately alerted and all safety procedures were strictly followed in accordance with the instructions of the regulatory authorities,” an airline representative told the news agency.

Mumbai police have registered a case against an unidentified person after three airlines received bomb threats on their X accounts, an official said on Tuesday.

IndiGo, Air India and Vistara received these threats on Monday and after verification, they were confirmed to be hoaxes, the official added.

Mumbai police registered 14 FIRs in October related to bomb threats against airlines. In response to the increase in fake threats, the IT Ministry has directed social media platforms to take necessary action and quickly remove or block access to misinformation as per IT rules.

In addition, the civil aviation ministry is considering legislative measures to address the issue of fake bomb threats targeting airlines.

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Sunday that the Center is considering measures to ban people who make false bomb threats from flying to address the growing problem of such threats to airlines.

Delhi Police on Saturday arrested a 25-year-old man from Uttam Nagar for allegedly sending two bomb threats to airlines.

The two reports were sent to the IGI airport police in the early hours of Saturday, which is already on “high alert” due to regular fake reports.

Police said they immediately registered a case under the Security of Civil Aviation (SUA-SCA) Act and the criminal intimidation section under the BNS.