Indian airlines receive 10 bomb threats in 48 hours, all hoaxes

In the past 48 hours, 10 flights, including an Air India aircraft carrying 211 passengers from Delhi to Chicago, received bomb threats via social media, resulting in security agencies conducting specific counter-terrorism drills at various airports.

On Monday, 14 October, three bomb threats were reported for international flights departing from Mumbai. Followed by seven bomb threats received through social media platform X on Tuesday.

An Air India Express flight from Ayodhya to Bengaluru was delayed by almost three hours on Tuesday following a hoax bomb threat, officials said. The plane arrived in Ayodhya from Jaipur, Ayodhya's Maharishi Valmiki International Airport director Vinod Kumar said, confirming the emergency situation at the airport.

The situation arose following a threat from an unverified social media account, according to Air India Express officials. The Boeing 737-Max 8 aircraft, with tail sign VT-BWF, had 132 passengers on board. The aircraft arrived from Jaipur and was scheduled to go to Bengaluru after a brief halt in Ayodhya, according to an airline official.

A statement elaborated that "bomb threat call was received by the Station Manager, Air India Express, Ayodhya via social media X handle (@SCHIZOBOMBER777) at 1:41 pm for the flight".

Other flights were SpiceJet SG116 (Darbhanga-Mumbai), Akasa Air QP1373 (Bagdogra-Bengaluru), Air India AI127 (Delhi-Chicago), IndiGo 6E98 (Dammam, Saudi Arabia-Lucknow), Alliance Air 9I650 (Amritsar-Dehradun), and Air India Express IX684 (Madurai-Singapore).

A New York-bound Air India flight carrying 239 passengers from Mumbai was on Monday diverted to Delhi airport following a security concern arising out of a bomb threat, officials said. They said all passengers had disembarked and the aircraft searched.

"The aircraft is currently stationed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, and all standard safety protocols are being diligently followed to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew on board," a senior police officer said at the time. The officer said the threat was received through a tweet and was being verified.

In a similar series of events in June 2024, 41 airports across India, including major hubs in Varanasi, Chennai, Patna, and Jaipur, received bomb threat emails. The threats, all of them hoaxes, prompted extensive security sweeps and heightened alertness across the facilities.

In the same month, a 13-year-old boy was apprehended for allegedly sending an email to Delhi airport, falsely claiming that a bomb had been planted in a Toronto-bound Air Canada flight.

"On 4 June, a PCR call was received at 11.25 p.m. regarding a bomb threat e-mail for flight number AC043, scheduled from Delhi to Toronto, at the IGI Airport police station," said deputy commissioner of police (IGI Airport) Usha Rangnani. On a complaint received from Air Canada airline, an FIR was registered in the matter, Rangnani said.