Bomb threats hit 50 flights; government seeks help of international agencies, IB

NEW DELHI/PANAJI: The deluge of anonymous online hoax threats causing turbulence in airline operations since mid-Oct continued Sunday, affecting over 50 flights operated by various carriers amid futile attempts by the govt to get social media platforms to filter such messages.

IndiGo alone received "security-related alerts" for 18 flights through the day, of which two - Pune-Jodhpur (6E 133) and Kozhikode-Dammam (6E 87) - had to be diverted to Ahmedabad and Mumbai, respectively. Vistara and Akasa were among the other airlines whose schedule was disrupted by the mandatory requirement of putting their aircraft through protocol checks. In the past 14 days, 350-odd flights have been caught in the mayhem of hoax messages, resulting in thousands of passengers being delayed and the airlines suffering financial losses running into hundreds of crores of rupees.

A Goa-Vadodara flight was diverted to Surat late Sunday evening after a bomb threat minutes before it was to land at its destination. The alert came hours before PM Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Vadodara on Monday. As of 9.30pm Sunday, the flight was grounded at Surat as checks continued.

Govt has asked social media intermediaries like X and Meta to curb the misinformation and warned them of strict action if they failed to do so. "We are also taking the support of international agencies, law enforcement agencies, the Intelligence Bureau to prevent these. We are planning to bring changes to two civil aviation laws. Those who resort to these kinds of activities will be punished severely and imposed a penalty," aviation minister Rammohan Naidu said. Airlines and passengers are in a quandary over the string of threats. "Safety and security of our customers and crew remain our highest priority. We regret any inconvenience caused to our customers and appreciate their understanding during this time," IndiGo said.