NEW DELHI: Hoax threat calls continue to wreak havoc on Indian carriers. Since late Friday night at least eight flights of Air India Group (3) and IndiGo (5) have got such messages.
Vistara‘s Delhi -London flight diverted to Frankfurt and after a thorough check the aircraft proceeded to its destination. Air India’s Newark-Mumbai was delayed at the origin for checks that took three hours and then took off for India.And an AI Express Dubai-Jaipur flight reached its destination and was checked there on arrival at a remote parking bay. Vistara’s Udaipur-Mumbai also reportedly got such a message.
A Vistara spokesperson said: “Flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on Oct 18 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 flight landed safely at the Frankfurt Airport where all the mandatory checks were conducted by the security agencies following which, the aircraft was cleared to conclude the journey. At Vistara, the safety and security of our customers, crew, and aircraft remain our highest priority.”
IndiGo got similar threats for some of its flights, including Delhi-Istanbul (6E 11) and Mumbai-Istanbul (6E 17). “The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and we are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines,” it said for these two Istanbul flights.
“Flight 6E 184, operating from Jodhpur to Delhi received a security-related alert. The aircraft has landed in Delhi and customers have disembarked the aircraft, we are coordination with the security agencies as per procedure,” IndiGo said.
Since last Sunday there have been over 40 such hoax threat messages for both international and domestic flights of Indian carriers.