Threats to flights: Home Ministry seeks report on series of bomb hoax calls to airlines

Representational Pic/File/AFP

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday sought a report from the Ministry of Civil Aviation on a series of bomb threats to various airlines across the country, reported the ANI.

In the last 48 hours, around 13 bomb threats have been received by various airlines on domestic and international routes, all found to be hoaxes.

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According to the ANI, a senior official has confirmed that MHA has instructed the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Bureau of Civil Aviation, National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) to submit a report on bomb threats that have been received recently.

"Senior officials of MHA have instructed all concerned security agencies in the aviation sector to prepare a report on the matter and submit it at the earliest. The investigation will be monitored by the central intelligence agency to find out if it was a conspiracy to damage the reputation Indian aviation sector," said the official, as per the ANI.

The official further said that they have also alerted cyber units to be on alert and track the social media accounts posting threats. Most of the accounts that have posted threats were found to be operated from outside the country. They have got these accounts suspended as soon they come to notice, the ANI reported.

On Wednesday, several flights continued to receive bomb threats.

A Mumbai to Delhi IndiGo flight was diverted to Gujarat's Ahmedabad following a security threat, the officials said.

The IndiGo flight 6E 651 was isolated upon landing, ensuring the safety of all passengers and crew on board.

In an official statement, IndiGo airlines said, "Flight 6E 651, operating from Mumbai to Delhi, was redirected to Ahmedabad due to a security-related alert. The aircraft was isolated, and all passengers were safely disembarked. Ensuring the safety and security of our customers and crew remains paramount in all facets of our operations. We worked closely with the relevant authorities, and standard operating procedures were followed. We sincerely regret any inconvenience this situation may have caused our customers and appreciate their understanding."

Another IndiGo flight, 6E 074 from Riyadh to Mumbai also received a bomb threat following which the flight was diverted to Muscat in Oman.

A Spicejet flight SG116 from Darbhanga to Mumbai received a bomb threat via social media platform. The flight landed at Mumbai airport on priority basis, the officials said.

Another Spicejet flight SG124 from Leh to Delhi also received a bomb threat via social media and the flight later landed at Delhi, the officials said.

In an another incident, an Akasa Air flight QP 1335, flying from Delhi to Bengaluru on October 16, 2024, and carrying 174 passengers, 3 infants and 7 crew members on board, received a security alert, the airline said.

(with ANI inputs)