Hoax bomb threat menace continues, over 100 flights affected in the day

The menace of hoax bomb threats continued on Tuesday as over 100 flights were affected after fresh warnings.

According to news agency PTI sources, various Indian airlines received bomb threats for more than 100 flights on Tuesday.

Over 510 domestic and international flights received threats in the past 16 days, which were later determined to be false alarms. These threats were primarily communicated through social media platforms.

The sources said Air India received approximately 36 threat notifications, while IndiGo and Vistara faced about 35 and 32 threats respectively in the day.

"A number of Air India flights were subject to security threats received on social media on 29 October 2024. Following the laid down protocols, relevant authorities were immediately alerted, and all security procedures strictly adhered to, as per guidance from the regulatory authorities," an Air India spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Mumbai police initiated legal proceedings against an unknown individual after three airlines received bomb threats on their X handle on Monday. Officials confirmed that threats to IndiGo, Air India, and Vistara were verified as false. The police have filed 14 FIRs related to airline bomb threats in October.

The IT Ministry has instructed social media platforms X and Meta to fulfill their due diligence obligations by swiftly removing or blocking access to misinformation within the timeframes specified in IT rules.

The civil aviation ministry is considering legislative measures to address the issue of false bomb threats to airlines.

Civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu announced on Sunday that the government is considering measures, including putting culprits on no-fly list, to prohibit individuals who make false bomb threats from air travel.