- By Nidhi Giri
- Sun, 20 Oct 2024 09:10 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
At least 24 flights of various Indian airlines, including Vistara, Air India, Akasa Air and IndiGo, received bomb threats on Sunday, October 20, forcing one diversion and a few of the flights declaring emergencies. Most of the threats received by airlines today came from an anonymous and unverified account —@schizophreniqqq— on social media platform X, per sources, quoted by an Indian Express report. The account was later suspended by X. So far this week, over 90 flights of Indian carriers have received bomb threats and most of them turned out to be hoaxes.
On Friday and Saturday, another anonymous X account —@adamlanza111— had posted threats to as many as 46 flights of Indian airlines before being taken down by the social media platform.
Bomb Threats On October 20
On Sunday, six flights each of IndiGo, Akasa Air, Vistara, and Air India received the threats, all of which were found to be fake following security checks upon landing. Vistara’s Delhi-Frankfurt flight UK27 returned to Delhi following the threat. The flight was just about to exit the Pakistani airspace on the way to Frankfurt when it turned around and headed back to Delhi, per flight tracking data.
“We confirm receiving security threats, on social media, for six Vistara flights operating on 20 October 2024. These flights include: Flight UK25 (Delhi to Frankfurt), Flight UK106 (Singapore to Mumbai), Flight UK146 (Bali to Delhi), Flight UK116 (Singapore to Delhi), Flight UK110 (Singapore to Pune), Flight UK107 (Mumbai to Singapore). In line with the protocols, all relevant authorities were immediately notified, and security procedures, as directed by them, are being carried out,” a Vistara spokesperson said.
IndiGo and Akasa Air also confirmed receiving threats via social media for six flights each. Air India did not comment on the issue, but sources, as quoted by Indian Express, indicated that at least six of the airline’s flights also received threats on Sunday.
The IndiGo flights that received bomb threats were: 6E87 (Kozhikode-Dammam), 6E11 (Delhi-Istanbul), 6E17 (Mumbai-Istanbul), 6E58 (Jeddah-Mumbai), 6E112 (Goa-Ahmedabad), and 6E133 (Pune-Jodhpur). In similar statements issued for the affected flights, indigo said that all the passengers got off the planes safely and all standard operating procedures (SOPs) were followed in close coordination with the relevant authorities.
The Akasa Air flights that received bomb threats on Sunday included QP1102 (Ahmedabad-Mumbai), QP1378 (Delhi-Goa), QP1385 (Mumbai-Bagdogra), QP1406 (Delhi-Hyderabad), QP1519 (Kochi-Mumbai), and QP1526 (Lucknow-Mumbai). After thorough security inspections of the aircraft, they were released for operations, according to the airline.
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“The Akasa Air Emergency Response team was immediately activated and initiated all standard operating procedures, including informing regulatory authorities and monitoring the situation in real-time. Captains and crew members of respective flights followed the required emergency procedures, and prescribed safety and security protocols in coordination with the local authorities. The Airport Services teams at all impacted airports coordinated with local authorities to ensure efficient handling of the situation,” Akasa Air said.
This spate of bomb threats started on Monday when three international flights of Indian carriers had received hoax bomb threats. All major scheduled Indian carriers have received these bomb threats. One minor from Chhattisgarh was apprehended earlier this week in connection with the bomb threats issued on Monday. However, social media threats have continued and only risen over subsequent days.