In the latest incident, an Air India flight operating from New Delhi to Chicago was diverted to Iqaluit Airport in Canada today after a hoax bomb threat was posted online. With this, the country has witnessed its 10th flight being grounded in less than 48 hours owing to similar threats.
Today, besides several others, bomb threats were received for the Air India flight-IndiGo’s Dammam-Lucknow flight, Air India Express’s Ayodhya-Bengaluru flight, SpiceJet’s Darbhanga-Mumbai service, Akasa Air’s Bagdogra-Bengaluru flight and Alliance Air’s Amritsar-Dehradun flight. Yesterday, a similar incident of receiving fake threats was reported on two IndiGo flights and one Air India flight.
“Flight AI127 operating from Delhi to Chicago on 15th October 2024 encountered an in-flight security threat posted online, following which the flight was diverted and landed safely at Iqaluit Airport as a precaution,” said the Air India spokesperson. Also, passengers and aircraft are being re-screened as per the standard security protocol, and the airline is coordinating with local agencies to help passengers until they continue their journey.
Flight AI 127, a Boeing 777, took off from New Delhi at 3:00 AM IST and was supposed to land in Chicago at 7:00 AM US time. According to the latest update, the flight remained at the Canadian airport until 5:38 PM IST.
IndiGo confirmed the incident on flight 6E 98, which was operating from Dammam to Lucknow, and said, “The safety of the passengers and crew is of the utmost priority.” The airline fully cooperates with the concerned authorities to take all necessary precautions.
A SpiceJet flight that landed safely in Mumbai was, however, taken to an isolation bay as a precautionary measure. “All the passengers landed normally, and the security agencies were informed. After thorough checks, the aircraft was cleared for further operations,” confirmed the SpiceJet spokesperson.
An Akasa Air spokesperson said a security alert was received regarding their flight, which landed safely at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. All passengers were deplaned, and local authorities conducted due safety checks after the aircraft was released for operations.
Alliance Air also said all precautionary measures had been undertaken for its Amritsar-Dehradun-Delhi flight, which is undergoing security checks at Dehradun.
The hoax threats came from an unverified social media account. Consequently, the BCAS took action to investigate the matter. Sources in the airlines say that the threats have hit the finances, but the safety protocols are being strictly followed.
In a related incident, three international flights operated by IndiGo and one by Air India received fake bomb threats on Thursday, causing major disruptions in international outbound operations. A total of 258 passengers were affected across the two IndiGo flights, whose fates are such that one was cleared for departure and another would take off later on Friday.
While three received bomb threats as per BCAS, one IndiGo flight has been given permission to fly, and the rest are likely to get permission shortly.
The first incident involved Air India flight AI 119, which was scheduled to go from Mumbai to New York’s JFK airport. Following a security alert, the above-mentioned flight was diverted to Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, from where passengers and crew were safely evacuated, and the bomb squad thoroughly checked the flight.
Meanwhile, IndiGo flights 6E1275 to Muscat and 6E56 to Jeddah reported similar security threats. The airline is immediately taking action. Both aircraft have been taken to isolated bays at Mumbai Airport for a security check. The Muscat-bound flight has already departed.
IndiGo said the airline reassures on the safety front that every precautionary measure for the passengers and crew is taken.
