 "For the past three days, nearly 19 Indian flight services have been disrupted after bomb threats were received. All of them turned out to be false. File image/Reuters")
The last three days of flying in India have been turbulent. Multiple hoax bomb threats, almost 19 in total, led to multiple diversions and delays, causing a nightmare for officials and flyers alike.
Authorities have stepped up investigations behind the threats with Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu saying that law enforcement agencies are actively pursuing all cases of bomb threats against airlines and the government is closely monitoring the situation. The government is also mulling stricter punishments for those behind these false threats, including placing them on no-fly lists.
But who is responsible for these hoax threats ? We explore this and more.
Minor boy in custody
On Wednesday, the Mumbai Police investigating the matter apprehended a 17-year-old boy from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh along with his father. The police noted that the threats were allegedly issued because the boy wanted to frame one of his friends, with whom he had a dispute over money.
The minor has now been sent to a remand home, while his father continues to be questioned. Investigations reveal that the teenager allegedly created a handle on X in the name of the friend with whom he had a dispute and posted bomb threats from it. They said that the teen wanted to implicate his friend with whom he had run a mobile shop a few months ago and suffered financial loss.
“The minor has a financial dispute involving approximately Rs 3 lakh with the man and has also filed a sexual assault case against him under the POCSO Act. Preliminary findings suggest that the boy posted the hoax messages to target him,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying to Indian Express.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThey also noted that he’s responsible for hoax threats to four flights, including the Air India flight AI 119 from Mumbai to New York, which was diverted to New Delhi.
Other threats, according to officials, have originated from abroad. However, authorities are tight-lipped in identifying the countries where the threats came from.
Nineteen threats in 72 hours
The threats began on Monday (October 14) and continued until yesterday (October 16). According to officials, a total of 19 flights — both domestic and international — received bomb threats, all of which turned out to be false.
On Monday, three flights received bomb threats — Air India’s Mumbai-New York flight, IndiGo’s Mumbai-Jeddah and Mumbai Muscat.
Air India officials said that its flight AI-119 received a specific security alert and was diverted to Delhi as per the instructions of the government’s security regulatory committee. The passengers of this flight were moved to hotels after security protocols were completed and the flight was rescheduled for Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, IndiGo flight 6E 57, which was scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Jeddah, was delayed for about 11 hours after it received a similar threat. IndiGo flight 6E 1275, which was scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Muscat, also received a threat. This plane was also taken to an isolated bay for checks. The plane departed around 9.15 am, after a delay of about seven hours.
On Tuesday, the threats continued with another seven flights — Air India Express flight from Jaipur to Bengaluru via Ayodhya (IX765), SpiceJet flight from Darbhanga to Mumbai (SG116), Akasa Air flight from Bagdogra to Bengaluru (QP 1373), Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago (AI 127), IndiGo flight from Dammam (Saudi Arabia) to Lucknow (6E 98), Alliance Air Amritsar-Dehradun-Delhi flight (9I 650), and Air India Express flight (IX 684) from Madurai to Singapore.
According to officials, the threats on Tuesday emanated from a single X account — @schizobomber777 — which has now been suspended. One of the threats read: “@AirIndiaX @jaipur_police @JprRuralPolice I placed bombs onboard of Flight IX765. The bombs will go off very soon. Blood will spread everywhere. Hurry up and evacuate, you don’t have much time left.”
In another, the user wrote, “@flyspicejet Hi. There are explosives onboard of Flight SEJ116. The bombs will go off soon. You will all die. Down the plane quickly before it’s too late.”
On Wednesday, such threats persisted, affecting a total of seven flights — four IndiGo flights, two SpiceJet flights and one flight of Akasa Air.
In the case of the Akasa Air flight, officials said that the Bengaluru-bound aircraft carrying 184 people returned to Delhi following the bomb threat. “Akasa Air flight QP 1335, flying from Delhi to Bengaluru on October 16, 2024, and carrying 174 passengers, three infants and seven crew members on board, received a security alert,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
Heavy cost of bomb threats
Officials note that such hoax calls and messages are not only psychologically damaging but also lead to heavy economic losses .
When a threat is detected, it triggers a long chain of events that disrupt the entire system. When a threat is found, the flight crew immediately informs the pilot, who then notifies the air traffic controller (ATC). The ATC then informs airport authorities, who send in security officials such as bomb disposal squads, sniffer dogs and more.
The affected plane is taken to an isolation bay where all passengers and their luggage undergo thorough screening. This process, which takes a minimum of three hours, not only inconveniences passengers and crew but also causes significant anxiety.
Also, when one flight is delayed, it causes a domino effect. This is because if an aircraft is scheduled to operate on six sectors in a day, a delay caused by a bomb threat on the first flight will result in delays for the subsequent five flights. With each flight carrying around 200 passengers, the impact extends to approximately 1,200 passengers.
These delays will result in airlines having to recompense their flyers, provide them with refreshments, offer hotel accommodations or even reschedule flights. All of this amounts to significant losses for the airline.
With inputs from agencies