New Delhi:

Amid a barrage of bomb threats received by airlines over the past few days, the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT today blasted social media platform X (formerly Twitter) through which many of these hoaxes were circulated.

Joint Secretary Sanket S Bhondve chaired a virtual meeting with representatives of airlines and social media platforms such as X and Meta. The official said that the situation amounts to “X abetting crime” and questioned its representatives on the steps taken to stop such alarming rumours from spreading, sources have said.

More than 120 flights operated by Indian carriers have received bomb threats over the past few days. Even yesterday, 30 flights operated by IndiGo, Vistara and Air India received such threats. The airlines said they followed standard operating procedures: authorities were alerted and security protocols were followed.

During a briefing on the situation on Monday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the government is trying to tackle it without compromising passengers’ safety. He added that those circulating such hoax threats will face tough action, including being put on a no-fly list.

The government plans to amend the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act so that action could be initiated for offences when an aircraft is on the ground. Currently, the aviation security norms largely cover in-flight offences.

“We are trying to make amendments and the legal team has worked on it… We need consultations with other ministries also… we are definitively pushing forward to have changes in the Act also so that it addresses offences that happen when the flight is on the ground and also make it cognizable offence,” he said.

Asked if there could be a conspiracy behind the barrage of threats, the minister said a thorough investigation was underway.

“Without investigation, we cannot put out any pattern… let us wait for the completion of the investigation,” he added.

The threats have created panic among the passengers and set off alarm bells for security agencies. Several flights, including international ones, have been diverted after the threats. 

“We are keeping ourselves dynamic and not rigid… assessing and learning from what is happening. Everything is taken on a case-by-case basis. Based on our learning, we are trying to assess the situation,” the minister said.

“We are continuously talking to law enforcement agencies. We are pushing to speed up the process. While we are trying to efficiently tackle the situation, we are not compromising on the safety and security,” Mr Naidu added.

He stressed that even though these were hoax threats, they have to be taken seriously. Security has been enhanced at airports and there is more checking at checkpoints. “We have increased (the number of) CCTV cameras so that airports get monitored more thoroughly.”

New Delhi:

With flights operated by Indian airlines receiving an unprecedented 70 bomb threats in six days, officials from aviation safety body Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) met the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the airlines in New Delhi on Saturday.

Officials said that at the meeting, held at the civil aviation ministry’s office in Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, the CEOs were asked to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) for tackling the threats, which have been causing inconvenience to passengers and losses to carriers. They were also asked to keep all stakeholders informed about the threats and the action being taken. 

Over 30 bomb threats were made against flights operated by different airlines on Saturday alone. Officials said that, in the investigation so far, they have found that the IP (internet protocol) addresses from which some of the threats were issued this week were from London, Germany, Canada and the US. They did not, however, rule out the use of VPNs (virtual private networks) by the people who made the threats to hide their actual locations. 

The BCAS and aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the officials said, are also expected to issue fresh guidelines for airlines to deal with bomb threats. 

The recent flurry of hoax calls and threats made through social media began on Monday and the threats have continued every day since then, causing several flights to be diverted or delayed. 

On Saturday, Vistara said five of its flights on international routes received security threats through social media while at least four IndiGo flights received security-related alerts. The other airlines whose flights received threats were Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Star Air and Alliance Air.

In a statement, Akasa Air said, “Some of our flights operating on October 19, 2024, have received security alerts today. As per safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deplaned as the local authorities followed necessary procedures. We request your understanding as our team on the ground did everything possible to reduce the inconvenience.” 

No Conspiracy?

A 17-year-old boy was taken into custody by the Mumbai Police on Wednesday for issuing threats to four flights on Monday, including three on international routes. Officials had said the teenager wanted to frame one of his friends, with whom he had a dispute over money. 

Over a dozen first information reports (FIRs) have been registered by the Mumbai Police and the Delhi Police in connection with the threats. 

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu had said on Thursday that initial investigations do not point to a conspiracy and that most of the calls had been “made by minors and pranksters”.

“We can’t comment on a conspiracy but whatever little we have known, it (the threats) is coming from minors or some pranksters. For very little, petty things, they are trying to issue threats on social media or through phone calls. So these are isolated incidents, there is no kind of conspiracy we can comment on,” he said.

Mr Naidu had said steps are being taken to ensure that a “strict barrier is created for people trying to do these kinds of pranks” and that the civil aviation ministry has held meetings with airlines and security agencies as well.