Tuesday (October 15), it seemed, was not a day to fly. Flyers across the country had to contend with diversions and delays after multiple flights received bomb threats. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has even called for a high-level meeting today (October 16) to discuss the issue of rising bomb hoax threats on flights.
Over the past 48 hours, India’s aviation sector has hit turbulence with 10 planes receiving bomb threats. Of these seven were received on Tuesday — Air India Express flight from Jaipur to Bengaluru via Ayodhya (IX765), SpiceJet flight from Darbhanga to Mumbai (SG116), Akasa Air flight from Bagdogra to Bengaluru (QP 1373), Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago (AI 127), IndiGo flight from Dammam (Saudi Arabia) to Lucknow (6E 98), Alliance Air Amritsar-Dehradun-Delhi flight (9I 650), and Air India Express flight (IX 684) from Madurai to Singapore.
The previous day, three flights received bomb threats — two IndiGo and one Air India flight.
But it’s not just airlines that have been receiving these threats. In recent months, several hospitals, malls, colleges and other institutions across the country have been at the receiving end of such bomb threats.
According to authorities, these bomb hoaxes not only disrupt daily life and cause heavy economic losses but also instill fear and uncertainty among citizens.
Seven bomb hoaxes in 24 hours
On Tuesday, a total of seven flights received bomb threats resulting in diversions and delays. The threats emerged on X, with authorities noting that came from the same account — @schizobomber777. The account has now been suspended.
In the case of the
Air India from Delhi to Chicago (AI 127), the Boeing 777 took off from New Delhi for Chicago at 3:00 am (IST) and was scheduled to land in Chicago at 7:00 am (US time). However, after receiving a bomb threat, the plane as a precautionary measure, landed at Iqaluit Airport in Canada.
“The aircraft and passengers are being re-screened as per the laid down security protocol. Air India has activated agencies at the airport to assist the passengers until such time that their journey can resume,” the airline said.
After Air India Express flight (IX 684) flying from Madurai to Singapore received a bomb threat, Singapore Armed Forces
scrambled two fighter jets to escort the plane away from populated areas. Singapore’s Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said Air India Express received an email that there was a bomb on board flight AXB684 that was bound for Singapore. “Two of our RSAF F-15SGs scrambled and escorted the plane away from populated areas, to finally land safely at Singapore Changi Airport around 10:04 pm tonight,” he said in a series of posts on X.
The IndiGo Dammam-Lucknow flight — 6E 98 — which was scheduled to arrive in Lucknow at 6:25 pm, was diverted to Jaipur, whereas Air India Express’s Jaipur-Ayodhya-Bengaluru flight IX765 was held up at the Ayodhya airport for several hours due to the bomb threat. The aircraft finally departed for Bengaluru at 6:21 pm, after a delay of nearly three-and-a-half hours.
For the AI Express flight and the affected flights of Akasa Air and SpiceJet, the planes were neither diverted nor delayed as they were close to their destinations.
Officials note that the bomb threats emanating from a single source had a similar message. For instance, in one of the threats, the user wrote: “@AirIndiaX @jaipur_police @JprRuralPolice I placed bombs onboard of Flight IX765. The bombs will go off very soon. Blood will spread everywhere. Hurry up and evacuate, you don’t have much time left.”
In another threat, the user wrote, “@flyspicejet Hi. There are explosives onboard of Flight SEJ116. The bombs will go off soon. You will all die. Down the plane quickly before it’s too late.”
First day of hoaxes
Tuesday’s bomb hoaxes were preceded by Monday when three different Indian flights received threats.
Air India’s Mumbai-New York flight was diverted to Delhi. IndiGo’s two flights scheduled for Jeddah and Muscat were delayed for 11 and seven hours respectively.
Air India officials said that its flight AI-119 received a specific security alert and was diverted to Delhi as per the instructions of the government’s security regulatory committee. The passengers of this flight were moved to hotels after security protocols were completed and the flight was rescheduled for Tuesday morning.
IndiGo flight 6E 57, which was scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Jeddah, also received a bomb threat. “As per protocol, the aircraft was taken to an isolated bay, and following the standard operating procedures, mandatory security checks were promptly initiated. Customers were provided with assistance and refreshments, and we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused,” an IndiGo spokesperson said. This flight departed from the Mumbai airport at around 1.15 pm after a delay of about 11 hours.
IndiGo flight 6E 1275, which was scheduled to operate from Mumbai to Muscat, also received the threat. This plane was also taken to an isolated bay for checks. The plane departed around 9.15 am, after a delay of about seven hours.
The Mumbai police investigating these threats have now issued a notice to a teen boy, his father and another person from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh. Officials say that the person’s X account was used to issue the threat.
Delhi becomes hoax capital
The threats received by airlines on Monday and Tuesday come after multiple malls and hospitals in the national capital, Delhi, were victims of similar hoaxes.
Early in August, Summer Fields School in Kailash Colony, Greater Kailash-1 received an email, threatening to blow up the school. The school premises were immediately evacuated. It later turned out to be a hoax by a 14-year-old student to skip school.
Later that month, malls and hospitals were also victims of such hoaxes prompting authorities to evacuate people and search the buildings. Officials said that they received information regarding bomb threats at Chanakya Mall (Chanakyapuri), Select Citywalk (Saket), Ambience Mall (Vasant Kunj), Primus Hospital (Chanakyapuri) and a few other places.
DLF Mall in Noida and Ambience Mall in Gurugram had also received threats but on further investigation, it turned out to be a hoax.
And it all began then…
The year 2024 has seen several bomb threats in the country and it began in May. On May 2, a total of 131 schools in Delhi received threat emails. The Delhi Police said that the email contained the word ‘Swaraiim’, which is an Arabic word used by the Islamic State since 2014 to spread Islamist propaganda.
However, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) later issued an official statement saying that the email appeared to be a ‘hoax’.
Other institutions in Delhi also received threats, including Tihar jail, Delhi Airport, and even the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The panic then spread to Ahmedabad when around 14 schools received alarming bomb threats via email. Investigations revealed that it was nothing more than a hoax, with some noting that it could be an effort to disrupt the voting for the Lok Sabha elections.
The bomb scares also came to Mumbai. On May 27, Mumbai Police received a threatening call indicating the presence of bombs at both the Taj Hotel and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. On thorough investigations, the authorities said that “nothing suspicious was found”.
Bomb threats and safety challenges
The rise in bomb threats highlights the evolving nature of cybercrimes. Authorities note that the rise in such cases is owing to the fact that detection is difficult. Most use end-to-end encryption of email making detection that much more impossible.
Officials further note that it’s not just a security hazard though. Such threats also cause significant economic losses.
With inputs from agencies
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From flights to schools, how rising bomb hoax calls are haunting India
