Six more flights of Indian carriers get bomb threats; 19 threats in three days

Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu Wednesday expressed deep concern over the “disruptive acts”. Stating that such “mischievous and unlawful” actions are a matter of grave concern, the minister condemned “attempts to compromise the safety, security and operational integrity of the aviation section.”

In his statement, Naidu also said that the Mumbai Police has apprehended a minor responsible for issuing bomb threats to three flights, and added that others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and prosecuted.

The relevant government ministries — including the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) — and agencies have gone into a huddle in view of these bomb threats, it is learnt. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is understood to be working closely with the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to formalise an earlier proposal of putting the perpetrators of hoax bomb threats on the no-fly list.

Security agencies and police forces in different parts of the country are probing the threats and trying to trace and nab those behind them. Sources indicated that security has been tightened and emergency response personnel put on alert at various Indian airports.

The flights that received bomb threats on Wednesday included Akasa Air’s Delhi-Bengaluru flight, two SpiceJet aircraft and three IndiGo flights — Riyadh-Mumbai, Mumbai-Singapore and Chennai-Lucknow. While the Akasa Air flight diverted back to Delhi, IndiGo’s Riyadh-Mumbai flight was diverted to Muscat. The other two IndiGo flights landed at their respective destinations, where the aircraft, passengers, and the baggage would be undergoing mandatory security checks as per protocol.

The aircraft operating the Akasa Air flight departed Delhi at 12.16 pm and declared a general emergency less than one hour into the flight, per flight tracking data. The Boeing 737 aircraft diverted back to Delhi and landed at around 2 pm. The airline, via a statement, said the captain had followed all required emergency procedures, diverted the flight back to Delhi and landed safely at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 1.48 pm.

“According to the prescribed safety and security procedures, the aircraft was taken to an isolation bay upon landing. All passengers were deplaned at 1.57 pm, in coordination with the local authorities who undertook the necessary safety and security checks,” the Akasa Air statement added.

“Akasa Air flight QP 1335… carrying 174 passengers, 3 infants and 7 crew members on board, received a security alert,” an Akasa Air spokesperson said, adding that the airline’s emergency response teams were monitoring the situation and had advised the pilot to divert the flight to Delhi with “abundant precaution”.

The airline did not elaborate on the nature of the security concern or the source of the bomb threat.

“Flight 6E 74, operating from Riyadh to Mumbai, was redirected to Muscat due to a security-related alert. The aircraft has been isolated, and all passengers have been safely disembarked. Ensuring the safety and security of our customers and crew remains paramount in all facets of our operations. We are working closely with the relevant authorities, and standard operating procedures are being followed,” IndiGo said in a statement on the Riyadh-Mumbai flight.

On the Mumbai-Singapore flight, the airline said that it was working closely with the relevant authorities, and standard operating procedures are being followed. On the Chennai-Lucknow flight, IndiGo said that the aircraft was positioned at an isolated bay soon after landing, and all passengers safely deboarded the plane. The airline is working closely with the relevant authorities and all standard operating procedures are being followed.

Following the bomb threats, passengers on both the SpiceJet aircraft were disembarked safely. After receiving necessary approvals from the concerned authorities, the aircraft were released for further operations, an airline spokesperson said. Although SpiceJet did not give details of the affected flights, sources indicate that these were SG 116 (Darbhanga-Mumbai) and SG 124 (Leh-Delhi).