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Bengaluru: In yet another bomb threat in a plane, an Akasa Air Bagdogra to Bengaluru flight (QP 1373) carrying 167 passengers received a bomb threat on Tuesday. Two infants and seven crew members were also present when the threat was received. This was 7th flight to receive such threats in one day and the 10th in two days. On Monday, three international flights from Mumbai had to return midway after bomb threats.
Three International-bound flights, including one to New York, returned midway following a security concern arising out of a bomb threat in the aircraft, officials said on Monday. The aircraft were taken to the isolation bay and the passengers disembarked.
The bomb scare was reported in a New York-bound Air India flight and two flights operated by IndiGo to Oman's capital Muscat and Jeddah, a port city in Saudi Arabia. All the flights took off from Mumbai.
Security Agencies' Submit Report To Aviation Ministry
Meanwhile, the central security agencies have given their initial report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation in a high-level meeting following 10 bomb threats received from Sunday-Tuesday. The meeting was chaired by Minister of Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu and Bureau of Civil Aviation, CISF, and other senior officials in airport security were present in the meet.
The CISF has confirmed that more than 10 bomb threats have been received on social media. An elaborate operation involving multiple agencies has been launched to track down the sender of threat Tweets.
Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (i4C), has also started to investigate the matter. The investigators suspect the real address to have been suppressed in multiple layers of encryption and will use advanced “unmasking programmes” to identify the sender. The flight details could have been procured from open-source data
Akasa Air On Bagdogra-Bengaluru Flight Bomb Threat
On the Bengaluru-bound flight, according to Akasa Air official statement, the Captain followed all required emergency procedures and landed safely at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru at 01:39 pm.
"All passengers were deplaned, and the local authorities undertook the necessary safety and security checks after which, the aircraft was released for operations. The Akasa Air team was on ground to assist all passengers, including providing regular updates and refreshments throughout the process," the Airline said.
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"On completion of all required safety procedures, passengers exited the airport terminal at 16:30hrs. At Akasa Air, passenger safety and comfort are our highest priority, and our crew followed all protocols according to our operating procedures," it added.
This is reportedly the seventh such incident today. Earlier, an Air India Express (AIX 685) Madurai-Singapore flight also received a bomb threat.
10 flights that received bomb threats are:
- Air India Delhi-Chicago
- Air India Express Jaipur-Ayodhya
- Indigo Dammam-Lucknow Flight
- IndiGo Bengaluru-Dehradun flight was diverted to Chandigarh due to a threat.
- Akasa Air Bagdogra-Benbgaluru flight
- Air India Express Madurai-Singapore Flight
- SpiceJet Darbhanga-Mumbai Flight
- Air India FlightMumbai to JFK
- IndiGo Flight Mumbai to Jeddah
- IndiGo Flight Mumbai to Muscat
ALSO READ| 3 International Flights From Mumbai Return Midway
Air India Flight Diverted To Canada
Earlier in the day, a Chicago-bound Air India flight received a bomb threat and was diverted to Canada’s Iqaluit International Airport (CYFB). After landing at the airport in Canada, passengers aboard the Chicago-bound flight were re-screened as per protocols.
Bomb Threat On Air India Express Jaipur-Ayodhya flight
On Tuesday afternoon, a bomb threat was sent to the Air India Express Jaipur-Ayodhya flight. The plane landed as per its routine schedule and the required SOPs were followed at Ayodhya Airport after a bomb threat was received on social media.
Bomb Threat On Dammam-Lucknow IndiGo Flight
In another case, an IndiGo Dammam-Lucknow flight 6E-98 received a bomb threat on October 15. "We are cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 98 from Dammam to Lucknow. The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and we are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines," IndiGo said in a statement.
SpiceJet Darbhanga-Mumbai Flight Grounded After Bomb Threat
SpiceJet's Darbhanga-Mumbai flight also received a bomb threat and was taken into isolation bay at Mumbai airport today. "On October 15, 2024, SpiceJet flight SG 116, operating on the Darbhanga-Mumbai sector, was informed by Mumbai ATC during descent of a bomb threat conveyed via a tweet," the airline spokesperson said.
The aircraft landed safely at Mumbai Airport and was directed to an isolation bay as a precautionary measure. All passengers disembarked normally, and security agencies were immediately notified, it added.
"After thorough security checks, the aircraft has been cleared for further operations," the airline further said.