Air India Express and Vistara Flights Targeted by Bomb Threats Amid Surge of Hoaxes

Two more flights operated by Indian airlines received bomb threats over the weekend, contributing to a total of 16 such incidents in just one week. A Vistara flight from Delhi to London was diverted to Frankfurt due to a bomb threat, while an Air India Express flight from Dubai landed in Delhi after a similar threat was received via email.

The Vistara flight, which arrived at Frankfurt around 12:40 am (Indian time), underwent mandatory security checks and continued its journey to London after a two-hour delay. A spokesperson confirmed that the airline promptly informed the relevant authorities and diverted the flight as a precaution.

The Air India Express flight, carrying 189 passengers, landed at Jaipur International Airport around 1:20 am, where thorough security inspections revealed no suspicious activity.

On Friday, an Akasa Air flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai also faced a security alert shortly before takeoff, leading to the deplaning of passengers. Subsequent checks confirmed that the threat was a hoax. Notably, five flights on Thursday alone received bomb threats, all of which turned out to be false alarms.

Investigators have noted recurring phrases in the hoax threats, including terms like “bombs,” “blood will spread everywhere,” and “you will all die.”

In connection with threats made to three flights from Mumbai on October 14, Mumbai Police detained a 17-year-old boy from Chhattisgarh. Some IP addresses linked to these threats were traced to foreign locations, including London. Police are collaborating with VPN service providers and social media platforms to trace the origins of the threat messages, as VPNs obscure users’ IP addresses.

In response to this alarming trend, the Civil Aviation Ministry is set to introduce stricter measures to combat hoax bomb threats, including the possibility of placing offenders on a no-fly list.