The spate of bomb scares targeting Indian airlines continued on Tuesday after 10 IndiGo flights, operating on domestic and international routes, received fresh bomb threats, the airline said.
The IndiGo flights that received threats are 6E-63 Delhi Jeddah, 6E-12 Istanbul-Delhi, 6E-83 Delhi-Dammam, 6E-65 Kozikode-Jeddah, 6E-67 Hyderabad-Jeddah, 6E-77 Bengaluru-Jeddah, 6E-18 Istanbul-Mumbai, 6E-164 Mangalore-Mumbai, 6E-118 Lucknow-Pune and 6E-75 Ahmedabad-Jeddah, the airline confirmed.
“At IndiGo, the safety of our customers and crew remains paramount in all facets of our operations. We worked closely with the relevant authorities, and standard operating procedures were followed. We sincerely regret any inconvenience it may have caused our customers and appreciate their understanding,” the airline said.
The airline sources claimed that apart from IndiGo, 10 Vistara flights also received security alerts between Monday and Tuesday, prompting thorough security checking at airports and flights.
“We confirm that a few of Vistara’s flights operating on 21 October 2024 received security threats on social media. We alerted the authorities and are following all security procedures as directed by them. At Vistara, the safety and security of our customers, crew, and aircraft are of utmost importance,” said a Vistara spokesperson.
Around 30 Flights Disrupted On Monday
Around 30 domestic and international flights operated by Indian airlines received bomb threats on Monday night, reported news agency PTI, citing airline soruces.
Airlines including IndiGo, Vistara, and Air India were targeted in the latest series of bomb threats, causing chaos in the aviation sector over the past week.
In a little over a week, more than 120 flights operated by Indian carriers have been received bomb threats. While most of these threats have turned out to be hoaxes, the airlines continue to face operational challenges due to the protocols that must be followed during such incidents.
Aviation Minister Calls For Stringent Rules
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Monday said life imprisonment to those who make hoax calls or social media posts will be proposed as an amendment to security rules, along with putting such offenders on the no-fly list.
Naidu confirmed that amendments are being planned to aviation security rules as well as the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982. He said the central government is planning to take legislative actions to deal with instances of bomb threats to airlines, which have plagued airport authorities, carriers and flyers over the past week.
“We have another act in place since 1980s, we need to cover the offences on ground and at airports,” he said, adding that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is continuously in touch with the home ministry on the situation of bomb threats to flights.
Section 3 of the Act made provisions for life imprisonment and fine if any communication was made “onboard” to affect flight operations. Now, the ministry of civil aviation is proposing to make any such disruption from the ground also punishable by life term.
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