India’s civil aviation sector saw an unprecedented surge in hoax bomb threats in 2024, with 1,019 false alerts recorded — a dramatic jump from just 330 total threats over the previous six years. The spike, officials say, was largely driven by anonymous posts on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), leading to major operational disruptions at airports across the country
In October 2024 alone, there were 687 threats, making it the most intense period, according to an internal report by aviation security agencies. June (96) and April (57) saw additional notable spikes. Most of the threats were sent via social media (611 cases), then by email (281 cases), and a smaller percentage were sent by text, voicemail, handwritten notes, and phone calls.
More than 600 domestic and international flights were the target of these hoaxes, which led to extensive emergency responses that included the deployment of bomb squads, aircraft sanitisation, and brief suspensions of flight operations. Without accounting for the additional toll on passengers and airport systems, each incident cost airlines an estimated ₹3 crore.
A significant trend surfaced: the majority of threatening posts originated from recently established social media profiles, frequently tagging multiple airlines simultaneously to increase their impact. Authorities think that the senders were able to evade detection by using VPNs and IP spoofing, which made investigations more difficult.
In late 2024, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) revised its guidelines in response to the increasing threat. Before implementing extensive security measures like aircraft diversions or isolation, the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) now uses a multi-layered approach to threat verification, assessing the reliability of the source and the content.
Even though all 1,019 of the threats in 2024 were ultimately determined to be hoaxes, the sheer volume has caused significant concerns within the security establishment.
Authorities caution that the aviation industry is still very delicate and that interruptions to it not only put a strain on the infrastructure but also have an impact on the nation's standing abroad and investor confidence.
In order to track down the origin of these messages and bring the offenders to justice, security agencies have now demanded more cooperation with tech platforms and more stringent digital regulations.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)