- By Nidhi Giri
- Sat, 19 Oct 2024 11:36 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
After flights operated by Indian airlines received an unprecedented number of bomb threats in the past few days, director general of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Zulfiquar Hasan on Saturday emphasised that Indian skies are absolutely safe, urging the passengers to fly without fear. The DG also assured that hoax bomb threats will be curbed at the earliest. Notably, officials from BCAS met the chief executive officers (CEOs) of the airlines in New Delhi today. During the meeting, airline representatives apprised the DG that security issues during the festive season could lead to congestion at airports.
As per news agency ANI, Zulfiquar Hasan instructed the airlines to follow safety and security guidelines strictly. BCAS officials also assured the airline's representatives that they are working with the concerned agencies to find out the root cause of the issue.
Hasan told ANI that safety protocols to deal with such threats are robust and that passengers should fly without any fear.
“Indian skies are absolutely safe. The current protocol (to deal with the situation) is robust and is being strictly followed,” Hasan told the news agency. "We reassure passengers that they should fly without any fear and in fact, fly even more."
Nearly 70 Flights Received Hoax Bomb Threats In Six Days
-More than 30 flights were targeted in the fresh bomb scare on Saturday. So far this week, at least 70 flights of Indian carriers have received bomb threats and most of them turned out to be hoaxes.
-On Saturday, Vistara said five of its flights on international routes received security threats through social media while IndiGo said at least four of its flights got security-related alerts. In at least one of the flights, a note was found in the lavatory saying there was a bomb in the flight.
-Five international flights of Indigo received bomb threats. These included: 6E 11, 6E 17, 6E 58, 6E 108, and 6E 184, the officials said.
-Meanwhile, Akasa Air also confirmed that some of its flights received security alerts on Saturday.
-An Air India Express flight IX-196, flying from Dubai to Jaipur made an emergency landing at the Jaipur International Airport after it received a bomb threat via email during the early hours of Saturday.
-Passengers on the flight from Darbhanga to Delhi were deboarded and checked again after a threat to blow up the plane with an X handle surfaced on Saturday. The airport was in a state of panic from Saturday afternoon to evening after receiving a threat to blow up SpiceJet flight SG 476 from Delhi to Darbhanga with a bomb.
Due to the hoax threats, many flights were diverted while some airlines were forced to re-screen all their passengers, causing major inconvenience and delays. The spate of such threats against Indian airlines has also led to major financial repercussions, with airline officials estimating losses running into crores of rupees.
Earlier this week, civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu said law enforcement agencies are actively pursuing all cases of bomb threats against airlines and the government is closely monitoring the situation.
The Union government is also planning to increase the deployment of air marshals on flights, while investigation agencies examine whether there is a “pattern” in the warnings.