Bomb threats disrupt 19 Indian flights over three days

IN THE past three days, 19 flights in India have received bomb threats, with a Riyadh-bound IndiGo flight being diverted to Muscat on Wednesday due to a threat, officials said.

The number of bomb threats has risen to at least 19, with nine of them occurring within a 24-hour period. All the threats have been confirmed as hoaxes.

On Wednesday alone, bomb threats were issued to four IndiGo flights, two SpiceJet flights, and one Akasa Air flight. Late on Tuesday, bomb threats were also made against one Vistara flight and one Air India Express flight.

Among the IndiGo flights, flight 6E 74 from Riyadh to Mumbai was diverted to Muscat. An IndiGo spokesperson said, "The aircraft has been isolated, and all passengers have been safely disembarked." Flight 6E 1011 from Mumbai to Singapore also received a security alert and landed safely in Singapore. Another IndiGo flight, 6E 515 from Chennai to Lucknow, was similarly affected and, after landing in Lucknow, the aircraft was moved to an isolated bay while passengers disembarked safely.

Late on Tuesday, an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Mumbai was diverted to Ahmedabad due to a bomb threat.

In a separate incident, an Akasa Air flight from Delhi to Bengaluru returned to Delhi after receiving a bomb threat. An airline spokesperson confirmed, "Akasa Air flight QP 1335, flying from Delhi to Bengaluru on 16 October 2024, and carrying 174 passengers, 3 infants, and 7 crew members, received a security alert."

SpiceJet was also impacted when the airline's X handle received a direct message threatening two of its flights, one from Leh to Delhi and the other from Darbhanga to Mumbai. A SpiceJet spokesperson said, "Passengers on both aircraft disembarked safely. After receiving the necessary approvals, the aircraft were cleared for further operations."

Vistara's flight UK 161 from Delhi to Hong Kong also received a security threat via social media on 15 October. The flight landed safely in Hong Kong early Wednesday, where security checks were conducted before it resumed operations.

An Air India Express flight from Kochi to Dubai also received a bomb threat late Tuesday. According to sources, the flight landed safely in Dubai, but the airline did not comment on the incident.

On Tuesday, nine flights in total were affected by bomb threats. Air India's flight AI 127 from Delhi to Chicago was diverted to Canada, with passengers later being ferried to Chicago by a Canadian Air Force plane. Another Air India Express flight from Madurai to Singapore received a threat, prompting Singapore's Armed Forces to scramble fighter jets to escort the plane away from populated areas before it landed safely at Changi Airport.

Three flights had already received bomb threats on Monday.

(With inputs from PTI)