79 flights receive fresh threats in 24 hours, over 160 hoax calls in a week

Several airlines have reported a series of fresh threats affecting 79 of its flights, mainly on international routes, this morning. The incidents, involving multiple hoax calls, have pushed the total number of such threats received by the airline this week to around 169.

In Short

• Hoax calls targeted 79 flights from Monday to Tuesday
• Threats targeted flights to major destinations such as Jeddah, Istanbul, and Riyadh
• Passengers safely evacuated after threat alerts

At least 79 flights received bomb threats, mainly on international routes, from Monday night to Tuesday. The flights targeted included 23 from IndiGo, 21 from Vistara, 12 from Akasa and 23 from Air India, all of which received threats during this period. The incidents, involving multiple hoax calls, have pushed the total number of such threats received by the airline this week to around 169.

The most recent threats targeted flights to major destinations such as Jeddah, Istanbul, and Riyadh.

Among the affected flights was IndiGo flight 6E 164 from Mangaluru to Mumbai, which received a security alert. Passengers were safely disembarked, and thorough security checks were conducted. Similarly, IndiGo's flight 6E 75 from Ahmedabad to Jeddah was escorted to the isolation bay upon landing, where passengers were safely evacuated, following the standard operating procedures.

Other IndiGo flights that faced similar threats include Flight 6E 118 from Lucknow to Pune, Flight 6E 67 from Hyderabad to Jeddah, Flight 6E 18 from Istanbul to Mumbai, Flight 6E 83 from Delhi to Dammam, Flight 6E 77 from Bengaluru to Jeddah (diverted to Doha), Flight 6E 12 from Istanbul to Delhi, Flight 6E 65 from Kozhikode to Jeddah (diverted to Riyadh) and Flight 6E 63 from Delhi to Jeddah (diverted to Medina).

This comes a day after Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said that making hoax bomb threat calls to airlines will be made a cognisable offence.

Multiple carriers in the past few days have received several such calls, significantly disrupting flight operations across the country.

On Saturday (October 19) alone, more than 30 flights received such messages. The carriers include Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Vistara, SpiceJet, Star Air and Alliance Air.

In response to the situation, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) held a meeting with CEOs and representatives of airlines in New Delhi on October 19.