Akasa Air and IndiGo flights targeted: 12 bomb threats in 3 days disrupt multiple routes

A Delhi-Bengaluru Akasa Air flight with 184 people on board was forced to return to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi on Wednesday after receiving a bomb threat. The flight, QP 1335, which had 174 passengers, three infants, and seven crew members, was en route to Bengaluru when the security alert was issued.

Akasa Air, in a statement, confirmed that their Emergency Response teams immediately advised the pilot to divert the flight back to Delhi. “The Captain followed all required emergency procedures to ensure a safe landing, and the flight is estimated to have arrived at around 2:00 PM,” said an Akasa Air spokesperson.

This incident is part of a wave of bomb threats targeting flights over the past three days. Another bomb threat was reported on the same day for an IndiGo flight, 6E 651, traveling from Mumbai to Delhi. The flight was diverted to Ahmedabad where the aircraft was isolated, and passengers were safely disembarked. IndiGo confirmed that all passengers were unharmed and security measures were promptly taken.

In the past 72 hours, 12 flights have received bomb threats, causing widespread disruption. On Tuesday alone, multiple flights were affected, including an Air India Delhi-Chicago flight, a Dammam-Lucknow IndiGo flight, and a SpiceJet flight from Darbhanga to Mumbai. Other impacted flights included Akasa Air’s Bagdogra-Bengaluru route and an Air India Express flight from Madurai to Singapore.

Earlier in the week, three more flights were targeted, including an Air India flight from Mumbai to New York and two IndiGo flights heading to Muscat and Jeddah. While many of these threats turned out to be hoaxes, each alert has triggered emergency responses and led to flight diversions, passenger evacuations, and heightened security measures.

In response to the growing number of threats, a Parliamentary Standing Committee met to discuss the issue, followed by a meeting led by Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu with officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The focus of the meeting was to assess the threat level and ensure that all necessary protocols are in place to guarantee passenger safety.

As bomb threats continue to disrupt flight operations, authorities are ramping up security checks and advising passengers to stay informed about flight statuses. While investigations into the origins of these threats are ongoing, airlines are coordinating closely with security agencies to ensure safe travel for all passengers.