Following the bomb hoax, several Tata group airlines, Air India and Vistara confirmed the threat on Monday night but did not provide details of the flights affected.
At least 30 flights received threats and 3 of them were diverted. The threats were sent via social media with a total number of threats exceeding 120 in the last eight days.
Several major airlines such as IndiGo, Air India and Vistara were forced to divert their flights and increased safety measures by diverting three IndiGo flights to Jeddah to other airports in the region.
The bomb hoax that disrupted flights in India not only disrupted flight schedules, but also caused uncertainty and worry among passengers who hoped to arrive at their destination on time but were delayed due to the actions of irresponsible people.
Meanwhile, Air India and Vistara, part of the Tata Group of airlines, have received threats on 10 flights each. Air India confirmed the threats in an interview.
“We confirm that some Air India flights operating on 21 October 2024 were subject to hoax security threats received on social media. Following the laid down protocols, relevant authorities were immediately alerted, and all security procedures strictly adhered to, as per guidance from the regulatory authorities and security agencies. All the flights have landed safely,” they said.
The same was done by the spokesperson of Vistara airlines and gave full authority to the authorities to handle the threat. The airport finally conducted a check with extra tight security.
Even though some of the threats posted on X’s social media are fake bomb threats, the impact of such actions is very serious. A series of post-landing security checks that can take time can result in flight delay or even rescheduling, and airline finances will also be affected.
The government’s steps in this regard were conveyed by the Minister of Civil Aviation, K Rammohan Naidu, to prevent the same threat by taking legislative action by making changes to the Aircraft Security Rules and amendments to the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation Act (SUASCA) 1982.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have been working together to deal with a series of bomb threats that have occured in the past few days.