Nine more flights are threatened, center proposes no-fly list for false reports

Bomb scares for flights: At least nine more flights received bomb threats on social media Thursday, continuing the recent wave of such threats. These consist of two Vistara flights, one IndiGo flight and five Air India flights. This brings the total number of similar incidents this week to around thirty.

After a bomb threat, a Vistara plane with 147 passengers from Frankfurt am Main to Mumbai had to make an emergency landing today.

According to a statement from Vistara, the Frankfurt-Mumbai flight landed safely here after receiving a security alert.

“Vistara flight UK 028, which flew from Frankfurt to Mumbai on October 16, 2024, was the subject of a security threat that was reported on social media,” the airline said.

“Five Air India flights received a security threat on social media today. These were duly reported to the regulators and all established procedures were strictly followed as per the instructions of the regulators. All five flights landed safely. “Air India is committed to the safety of its passengers and crew members and gives it top priority,” NDTV reported, quoting an Air India official.

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Following reports of a bomb threat, Akasa Air aircraft QP1335 with 184 people on board declared a state of emergency en route to Bengaluru on Wednesday and retreated to Delhi. Shortly afterwards, an IndiGo plane from Mumbai bound for Delhi had to be diverted to Ahmedabad for the same reasons.

Meanwhile, a minor was caught for making bomb threats against four planes using a fake social media account created in his friend’s name to blame him for the incident. The child was reportedly arrested in Chhattisgarh’s Rajnandgaon and authorities are investigating whether there is a larger conspiracy behind these threats.

According to senior officials at the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), there were numerous rounds of talks with various parties, including security agencies.

The government also plans to introduce strict guidelines to prevent false bomb threats against airlines, including adding the perpetrators to a no-fly list. According to this provision, such a person is prohibited from traveling on an airline.