Bomb threats target 95 flights, Aviation authorities respond with tough measures

NEW DELHI: Bomb threats were made against 95 aircraft today, including flights from major airlines such as IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, SpiceJet, Akasa Air and Alliance Air. This comes on the heels of the recent announcement by the central government that those making fake bomb threats against airplanes will face life imprisonment.

In just the last ten days, over 250 planes have been targeted by bomb threats, most of which were later confirmed to be false. Today's threats included 25 Akasa Airlines flights, 20 each from Air India, IndiGo and Vistara and five each from SpiceJet and Alliance Air. Authorities have confirmed that eight cases have been registered in connection with the latest incident.

The police revealed that the threats were largely communicated via the social media platform X, which has since suspended the accounts responsible for the messages. Just yesterday, more than 170 planes received similar threats, also later deemed to be hoaxes.

In response to the growing number of fake threats, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has warned that, in addition to imprisonment and fines, individuals found guilty of making false threats will be placed on a no-fly list. The Aviation Security Act of 1980 stipulates life imprisonment and hefty fines for intimidation on board an aircraft. This also extends to threats made from outside regarding aircraft that are about to take off or already in flight, with penalties ranging from five years to life imprisonment.