NEW DELHI: At least seven more flights received hoax threat messages on Wednesday, bringing the total number of affected airliners to nearly 20 in the past three days. An IndiGo Riyadh-Mumbai flight (6E 74) was diverted to Muscat on Wednesday, and its Mumbai-Delhi flight (6E 651) to Ahmedabad, while Akasa’s Delhi-Bengaluru flight (QP 1335) returned to IGI Airport.
The Union home and aviation ministries are working together to tackle this issue and prosecute those responsible for these threats, which are disrupting flights, affecting thousands of passengers during the peak festive travel season, and causing significant financial losses to airlines.
A “deeply concerned” Union aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu chaired a high-level meeting on the issue this Monday, attended by senior officials from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and the home ministry. “I am monitoring the situation regularly, and our law enforcement agencies are actively pursuing all cases. Mumbai Police has arrested a minor responsible for issuing bomb threats targeting three flights. All others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and duly prosecuted. I assure all stakeholders, including passengers and industry partners, that every effort is being made to safeguard operations. We are committed to enhancing security measures and maintaining seamless coordination with global security agencies,” Naidu said on X.
Aviation ministry officials told the parliamentary standing committee on transport, headed by Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha, that agencies have gathered some details about those who issued these threats. Apart from taking action under relevant sections of the law, the government is also working on placing individuals issuing hoax messages to aviation-related infrastructure and flights on the no-fly list. BCAS had sent this proposal to the aviation ministry in June. “BCAS had not identified the relevant law to base this move on. We will work it out,” a senior aviation ministry official said. Security at airports and on flights has also been increased, with sky marshals being deployed, say sources.
BCAS DG Zulfiquar Hasan said on Wednesday: “All law enforcement agencies are working together on this issue. The culprits behind each and every hoax call will be identified and severely punished. Mumbai Police has arrested a minor reportedly responsible for 30%-40% of the calls. We are following all protocols, and our skies remain absolutely safe. We regret the inconvenience caused to passengers and are working to minimize it.”
Air India will now “consider legal action against those responsible to recover damages incurred by the airline.” The flights impacted on Wednesday include four from IndiGo, two from SpiceJet, and one from Akasa.
Meanwhile, over 200 passengers stranded in Canada’s remote Iqaluit town after Air India’s Delhi-Chicago flight was diverted there on Tuesday following a threat message finally reached their destination on a Royal Canadian Air Force Airbus A330 on Wednesday, though without their checked-in baggage. The crew operating AI 127 from Delhi to Chicago could not operate their aircraft out of the remote sub-Arctic town due to flight duty time limitations.
The small town did not have adequate hotels or facilities for the over 220 passengers and crew of AI 127, so a request was made to fly out at least the passengers to their destination. Alternate AI crew will be sent to Iqaluit to take the aircraft, along with the baggage, to the US.
“With passengers from Air India flight 127 stranded in Iqaluit after an emergency landing due to a bomb threat, we have approved a request for the Canadian Armed Forces to provide an airlift to get passengers safely to their destination in Chicago,” Canadian Minister of National Defence Bill Blair said on X (formerly Twitter) early on Wednesday morning (India time).
In a statement on Wednesday morning, AI said passengers of AI 127 are on their way to Chicago. “Passengers are being ferried on a Canadian Air Force aircraft that took off from Iqaluit at 3:54 am (UTC) and is expected to land in Chicago at 7:48 am (UTC). We thank the Canadian authorities and Iqaluit airport for their support and assistance extended to passengers and Air India during this unexpected disruption.”