Over 25 flights receive hoax bomb threats today; IndiGo, Vistara, SpiceJet see maximum calls

The spate of hoax bomb threats continued on October 25 with more than 25 domestic and international flights operated by Indian carriers receiving bomb threats. 

Around seven flights each of IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet got the threats while six flights of Air India received the threats, according to a PTI report. 

An IndiGo spokesperson said seven of its flights got security-related alerts. 

IndiGo’s seven flights -- 6E 87 (Kozhikode to Dammam), 6E 2099 (Udaipur to Delhi), 6E 11 (Delhi to Istanbul), 6E 58 (Jeddah to Mumbai), 6E 17 (Mumbai to Istanbul), 6E 108 (Hyderabad to Chandigarh) and 6E 133 (Pune to Jodhpur) received the threats. 

“Flight 6E 2099, operating from Udaipur to Delhi, received a bomb threat. Following security agency guidelines, the aircraft was redirected to isolation bay before take-off and standard operating procedures were followed. All passengers were safely disembarked,” a IndiGo spokesperson said. 

In 12 days, more than 275 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats. Most of the threats were issued through social media. 

More than 80 domestic and international flights of various Indian airlines received bomb threats on October 24, PTI reported.  

As per the report, around 20 flights each of Air India, Vistara, and IndiGo got bomb threats while Akasa Air got the threats for 13 flights. Besides, around 5 flights each of Alliance Air and SpiceJet received the threats.  

The government has asked social media platforms Meta and X to share data about hoax bomb threat messages to airlines and has started identifying those behind such activities. The government has also asked top multinational technology conglomerates to cooperate with it in helping identify those behind such hoax calls, saying this involves public good.  

According to high-level government sources, as reported by PTI, several of the individuals responsible for these hoax calls have been traced, and necessary actions are being initiated. However, officials have refrained from disclosing specific details about the origins of these messages or the identities of those involved.

Earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the government plans to take legislative actions to deal with instances of bomb threats to airlines, including placing perpetrators of such threats in the no-fly list.