Mumbai: The airlines industry and the police all over the country are on the tenterhooks following a series of bomb threats. On Saturday alone, six threats were received at Mumbai airport taking the total number of such calls made to different airport in the country to 70. All of them turned out to be hoaxes.
But the inconvenience caused to thousands of passengers by the flight delays and diversions has been enormous. The industry has already suffered a loss of over Rs 80 cr because of increased use of fuel and other costs.
Also, many people are postponing their travel plan because of uncertainty and fear generated by the hoax calls. "I wanted to go to Delhi to attend a meeting on Monday. But now I am not certain I will go because of the uncertainty," said Avisha Kulkarni.
Manish Kawlania, deputy commissioner of police Zone-8, in whose jurisdiction Mumbai airport is situated, stated, "A total of six threats were received through X (formerly Twitter) account on Saturday. However, all flights landed safely at an isolated bay at Mumbai airport, and all threats turned out to be hoaxes. We are investigating all these threats."
All the six threats came from X account user name 'Adha' mentioned flights of several airlines which were scheduled to land at Mumbai International airport.
Two days ago, the Sahar police arrested a minor from Chhattisgarh, and his interrogation is ongoing. The police have not yet disclosed details from the interrogation. Investigations into other threats are also continuing.
Meanwhile, due to the bomb threats disrupting air travel, five IndiGo flights were placed on high alert. Vistara, Akasa Air, and Air India were also affected. Included among the disrupted flights are IndiGo’s flight 6E 17 from Mumbai to Istanbul, and Jodhpur to Delhi, as well as Vistara’s flight from Udaipur to Mumbai.
To date, more than 70 flights operated by Indian carriers have received bomb threats, all of which were found to be false.
IndiGo stated that the recent bomb threats involved flight 6E 17 from Mumbai to Istanbul and flight 6E 11 from Delhi to Istanbul. The airline is cooperating closely with authorities and adhering to all necessary precautions in line with the guidelines.
Akasa Air stated that several of its flights on Saturday received security alerts. The airline’s Emergency Response teams are closely monitoring the situation and are in touch with security and regulatory authorities.
Akasa Air is following all safety and security protocols in coordination with local authorities, with ground teams prepared to assist passengers, ensuring their safety and comfort.
Ten more hoax bomb threats were received by multiple airlines on Saturday. Five hoax bomb threats were received by Spice jet, regarding flights SG 55, SG 116, SG 211, SG 476, SG 2939. Five more were received by Air Asia regarding flights 9I 506, 9I 528, 9I 822, 9I 661, 9I 804.
The Spokesperson of Lucknow international airport said, "On Saturday, S5 223 from Lucknow to Kishangarh, received a bomb threat at 1.52 pm. The airport's Bomb Threat Assessment Committee was convened to assess the threat and security measures were implemented at the airport as per aviation protocols. After moving the aircraft to the isolation bay, passengers were safely deboarded and CISF personnel conducted a security check... The aircraft was cleared at 4.10 pm by the security agencies."
Additionally, Indigo flight 6E 108, operating from Hyderabad to Chandigarh also received a hoax bomb threat. A statement released by IndiGo said that all the passengers were safely evacuated.
Additionally, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is in talks with the other concerned ministries to make required amendments in the existing laws to make them more stringent to deal with the cases of hoax bomb threats for flights, ministry's sources said.
The accused person will be put on a no-fly list, said a senior official in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The official said that a committee will be formed in consultation with the law ministry and Ministry of home affairs to prepare a draft to make amendments to the Aircraft Act, 1934 and Aircraft Rules, 1937 and subordinate legislations to ensure a 5-year imprisonment as well as placing offenders on a no-fly list for hoax bomb threats for flights. (with inputs from ANI)
