New Delhi:

The hoax bomb threats will be curbed down at the earliest, assured the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Zulfiquar Hasan, as he emphasised that Indian skies are absolutely safe and urged the passengers to fly without fear.

Speaking to ANI on Saturday, the BCAS DG confirmed that they are in coordination with concerned security agencies and airlines over the matter. He has assured that these hoax calls will be curbed down at the earliest as they are working over it.

“Indian skies are absolutely safe. The current protocol (to deal with the situation) is robust and is being strictly followed. We reassure passengers that they should fly without any fear and in fact, fly even more,” he told ANI.

On meeting with representatives of airlines, he said various things related to safety and security were discussed.

Earlier in the day, a meeting of the airlines was held at the BCAS headquarters in Delhi.

According to officials, the meeting, chaired by DG BCAS Zulfiquar Hasan was, was called to discuss the issue the airlines are facing.

During the meeting, the representatives of airlines discussed issues they are facing due to the series of hoax bomb threats. They also said that the issues related to security during festive season could lead to congestion at airport.

BCAS officials assured the airlines representatives that they are working with the concerned agencies to reach the root cause of the issue.

The back-to-back threats has placed a significant burden on the airlines, security forces, and passengers. And it is tough for all stake holders in aviation security to maintain operational stability during festive time, the officials added.

Earlier, Spice Jet and Air Asia flights received five bomb threats each, with multiple airlines receiving a total of 30 bomb threats in the last four days.

Five hoax bomb threats were received by Spice jet, regarding flights SG 55, SG 116, SG 211, SG 476, SG 2939. Five more were received by Air Asia regarding flights 9I 506, 9I 528, 9I 822, 9I 661, 9I 804.

According to official sources, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is in talks with the other concerned ministries to make required amendments in the existing laws to make them more stringent to deal with the cases of hoax bomb threats for flights.

The accused person will be put on a no-fly list, officials said.

The official said that a committee will be formed in consultation with the law ministry and Ministry of Home Affairs to prepare a draft to make amendments to the Aircraft Act, 1934 and Aircraft Rules, 1937 and subordinate legislations to ensure a 5-year imprisonment as well as placing offenders on a no-fly list for hoax bomb threats for flights.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Three flights received bomb threats in less than 24 hours, adding to a long list of hoax calls airlines have received this week, triggering an unprecedented security scare. A London-bound Vistara flight from Delhi (UK17) was diverted to Frankfurt, Germany, after a bomb threat. A Jaipur-Dubai Air India Express flight (IX 196) was given a threat, which turned out to be fake. Meanwhile, an Akasa Air flight (QP 1366) from Bengaluru to Mumbai also got a bomb threat shortly before departure.

The bomb threat to the Dubai-Jaipur Air India Express flight forced a delay in taking off the Jaipur-Dubai (IX 195) flight from the airport. The take-off was scheduled for 6:10 am today, but it left for Dubai at 7:45. The flight is on its way to its destination. Meanwhile, the Vistara flight which was diverted to Frankfurt, later took off for London.

“Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024, received a security threat on social media. In line with the protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed and as a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt,” the spokesperson said.

Akasa Air said, Flight QP 1366, flying from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday, received a security alert shortly before departure. However, the plane was thoroughly checked for security at Mumbai airport as per SOP. No objectionable items of any kind were found. After this, the plane was given NOC for flight after the security check. Late Friday evening, the plane took off from Mumbai to Bengaluru with a delay of several hours.”

“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,” the airline added.

Since Monday, at least 35 flights have received such threats, prompting the civil aviation ministry and authorities to put in place stricter norms to deal with such situations. 

Sources earlier told NDTV that the airlines gave inputs on the situation and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suggested that several steps will be taken like putting hoax callers on the no-fly list for five years. The airlines suggest that the losses borne by them due to fake bomb threats should be recovered from the accused.

What Civil Aviation Minister Said

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

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. 

Mr Naidu also said his department is considering changes in rules and legislation to ensure that such hoax bomb calls do not happen in the future. 

“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,” the minister said on Thursday.

Mr Naidu said steps are being taken to ensure that a “strict barrier is created for people trying to do these kinds of pranks” and his department is pursuing changes in rules and legislation to achieve this. 

New Delhi:

A London-bound Vistara flight from Delhi was diverted to Frankfurt on Friday following a bomb threat.

In a statement early Saturday morning, an airline spokesperson said the flight landed safely at the Frankfurt airport and mandatory checks are being conducted. The flight will continue to its destination once cleared by the security agencies.

“Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024 received a security threat on social media. In line with the protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed and as a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt,” the spokesperson said.

According to an official in the know, the flight had received a bomb threat.

Meanwhile, Akasa Air said its flight QP 1366 scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday received a security alert shortly before departure.

“Hence 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 ground did everything possible to reduce inconvenience,” the airline said in a post on X.

In the past few days, nearly 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.

The Civil Aviation Ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators in the no-fly list.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

 An Air India flight going from New Delhi to Visakhapatnam received a bomb threat Tuesday late night, but it was found to be a hoax after a thorough scrutiny on landing in the port city, said an official.

Visakhapatnam Airport Director S Raja Reddy said the Delhi Police received the bomb threat call and alerted the airline and the Visakhapatnam airport.

“It (flight) landed safely and on thoroughly checking the flight, it was found to be a false call,” Mr Reddy told PTI, adding that there were 107 passengers on the Vizag-bound flight.

After deboarding passengers from the aircraft and checking it, that nothing suspicious was found, the director noted.

Meanwhile, boarding on the return flight to Delhi has begun and it is scheduled to leave around 12.30 am, Reddy added.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)