Fake bomb threats disrupt travel for scores of flights on Indian airlines

An Air India airlines jet is pictured in September 2023 in Lido Beach, New York. The airline was one of many affected by hoax bomb threats over the past week. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images hide caption

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

A surge of hoax bomb threats has caused significant disruption to travel for passengers on major airlines in India in recent days.

Over the past week, 100 threats were made against flights, Indian media reported on Monday. The threats were hoaxes but have forced airlines to divert and delay flights and implement costly security measures.

"Even though there are hoax threats, we can’t take the situation non-seriously," Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu told reporters on Monday. He said that despite most threats turning out to be fake, airlines and authorities have a rigid security protocol they're required to follow whenever a threat is received.

Eight flights were diverted in the past week, Naidu said. He added that authorities had enhanced security at airports, and were using closed-circuit cameras to monitor airports more closely.

In one case, an Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago on Oct. 15 was forced to land at Iqaluit Airport in northeastern Canada, and the plane and passengers had to undergo security screening. The 211 passengers were stranded, as the airport did not have the resources to do the necessary explosives detection. It was 18 hours later that the Canadian Air Force finally shuttled them to Chicago.

On Thursday, an Air India flight from Mumbai to London was intercepted by the U.K.'s Royal Air Force after receiving a bomb threat. It flew in a holding pattern for 30 minutes before it was allowed to land, according to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

A Vistara flight from Delhi to London was diverted to Frankfurt on Friday, the airline said. Then on Sunday, a Vistara flight from Delhi to Frankfurt had to turn around and land back in Delhi. Both incidents were due to bomb threats, according to Indian media.

"Strict action will be taken against hoax threats, as safety remains our top priority. Those jeopardizing security will face serious consequences," Naidu said in a statement.

The civil aviation minister told reporters his office was advocating changes to regulations and laws to increase punishments for making bomb threats.

"Once we catch hold of the perpetrator who is behind this, we want to put them in the no-fly list," he said.

Many of the bomb threats are being made by anonymous accounts on X.