Bomb threats to flights surge with 36 more incidents reported on Sunday; officials seek assistance from social media firms

Grounded aircraft at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Saturday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The seemingly unending wave of bomb threats received by airlines is disrupting the Indian aviation industry, with 36 such incidents being reported by press time on Sunday. The threats have been traced to a social media account, which has now been suspended. The troubles started on Monday with three flights receiving bomb threats. Since then, the number kept escalating.

"The increasing number of threats has thrown flight schedules into disarray, causing delays and rescheduled flights, leaving passengers to deal with the ensuing chaos," said a highly placed Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) source. "The BCAS has stepped up its efforts to manage the situation. Late on Saturday evening, BCAS Director General Zulfiquar Hasan met with airline CEOs to assess the status and discuss strategies for handling the ongoing threats," the source added.

Grounded aircraft at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Saturday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

A senior Ministry of Civil Aviation official stated, "Though it is clear that the threats are sent via unverified handles on social media, the source is yet untraced. The investigation is underway but according to what we know as of now, the individual/group issuing these threats is either using a VPN [Virtual Private Network] to issue the threats or the individual/group is using the dark web to create the handles used for issuing the threat which is making it very difficult to track them."

The official added, "We are taking help from social media platforms as well for the investigation. The accounts from which the threats are being issued are suspended as and when they come to our notice. Furthermore, some of the threats have been tracked to Germany but it is highly likely that this will not be the original location of the threat due to the use of a VPN and the dark web."

Belgavi incident

The Belagavi Airport in Karnataka also received a bomb threat via email. A BCAS source confirmed, "A hoax mail was received regarding a threat to Belagavi airport. A case has been registered in this regard at the Marial police station." The source added that a comprehensive search was conducted both inside and outside the airport, but nothing suspicious was found, confirming that the threat was indeed a hoax. An investigation is underway to identify the sender of the email. "Authorities are on high alert as efforts continue to trace the origin of the social media threats and to ensure passenger safety," a BCAS source added.

Expert Speak

Captain Mohan Ranganathan, An aviation expert, said
"When it comes to bomb threats, there are guidelines in the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organisation] manual which need to be followed not only by agencies but also by airlines. These guidelines help in defining whether the threat received is genuine. The civil aviation minister has termed these attempts to be a sort of prank. We can see that as soon as a bomb threat is received, the flight declares an emergency. I have noticed that the ICAO guidelines are not being followed in many cases here. Someone might even be trying to test the strength of our agencies and might take advantage of this situation by executing something as agencies stretch their resources thin when multiple bomb threats arrive in a short span of time."