30 IndiGo, Air India & Vistara Flights Disrupted In A Day Due To Bomb Threats: Report

The government is planning legislative actions to deal with bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators on the no-fly list

At least 30 flights operated by Indian airlines, on both domestic and international routes, reportedly received bomb threats on Monday night. The flights of IndiGo, Vistara and Air India were among those that received the bomb threats, news agency PTI reported quoting sources privy to the matter.

Confirming the development, IndiGo on Tuesday said four of its flights received security-related alerts a day before. "They are 6E 164 (Mangaluru to Mumbai), 6E 75, (Ahmedabad to Jeddah), 6E 67 (Hyderabad to Jeddah) and 6E 118 (Lucknow to Pune)," an airline spokesperson said. 

Passengers from these flights disembarked safely, according to four separate statements from the airline. "We worked closely with the relevant authorities, and standard operating procedures were followed," the spokesperson added.

Air India said that some of its flights that operated on Monday were subject to 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," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement.

Vistara also said that some of its flights yesterday received security threats on social media. "We immediately alerted the relevant authorities and are following all security procedures as directed by them," the airline spokesperson said in a statement.

This followed that similar incident that occurred a little over a week ago when more than 120 flights operated by Indian carriers received bomb threats. Even though bomb threats are hoaxes, things cannot be taken non-seriously, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the government is planning legislative actions to deal with bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators on the no-fly list. Amendments are being proposed to The Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act (SUASCA), 1982 whereby the perpetrators could be arrested and a probe can be initiated without a court order for offences when an aircraft is on the ground.

Also, changes are being planned to aircraft security rules to ensure stringent punishment for perpetrators of bomb threats to flights. 

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