More than 400 flights on Indian carriers received hoax bomb threats over 15 days

There has been a sudden flood of bomb threats made to more than 400 domestic and international flights on Indian airlines.

This spate took place over around two weeks till Oct 28, according to a report in Indian media outlet The Hindu.

“In 15 days, over 410 domestic and international flights operated by the Indian carriers have received hoax bomb threats,” said the report, adding that most of the threats were issued through social media.

On Oct 28 alone, such threats were issued for more than 60 flights.

Air India and IndiGo each received threats for 21 flights, while Vistara had 20 flights affected. It is not known how long this disruption lasted.

IndiGo said two of its flights had to be diverted as a result of the threats, Business Today reported. Flight 6E 133, travelling from Pune to Jodhpur, was rerouted to Ahmedabad, and 6E 87 from Kozhikode to Dammam was diverted to Mumbai.  

An Air India spokesperson confirmed to The Hindu that a number of its flights were subject to security threats received on social media on Oct 28.

“Following the laid down protocols, relevant authorities were immediately alerted, and all security procedures strictly adhered to, as per guidance from the regulatory authorities,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Amid the flood of bomb threats, India’s IT Ministry has advised the public to observe “due diligence obligations and promptly remove or disable access to misinformation” on social media within the strict timelines under IT rules.

The nation’s civil aviation ministry is also taking steps to prevent such incidents from taking place and to ban those who participate in and lead such threats from flying, The Hindu said in a report.