Indian airlines are 'in trouble' with bomb threats

Air India is one of the airlines affected by the bomb threats.

All flights threatened with bombs landed safely. However, some Indian Airlines planes were diverted to Canada and Germany, while fighter jets were tasked with tracking affected aircraft in British and Singaporean airspace, according to AFP.

The Indian government and civil aviation authorities have warned they will take strict measures to prevent the recurrence of threatening behavior on flights.

While the New Delhi Civil Aviation Authority has not released figures on the number of threatened flights, The Times of India and News18 have reported a total of more than 70 incidents on both domestic and international flights since October 13.

On October 19 alone, at least 30 bomb threats occurred.

At least one person has been arrested in India for spreading fake news, but such irresponsible actions have not stopped.

"Authorities will hunt down and bring to justice all those responsible for disrupting flights," AFP quoted Indian Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu as saying after the arrests on October 16.

The Indian Express reported that an anonymous account on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) was suspended after spreading a hoax claiming that at least 40 flights were threatened with bomb attacks on October 18 and 19. These included Indian and international airlines, including those from the US and New Zealand.

"A bomb is planted on board… No one can survive. Evacuate the plane quickly," read a status update posted on that account.

One of the affected flights was operated by Air India from Mumbai (India) to New York (New York State, USA), forcing US security to conduct a full search of all aircraft that landed on October 19.

An Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago, Illinois, was forced to divert and make an emergency landing in Iqaluit, Canada, on October 15.

During this process, the Royal Canadian Air Force had to deploy fighter jets to escort the aircraft until it landed safely.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hang-khong-an-do-dang-gap-han-bi-doa-danh-bom-185241020173317578.htm