Amid Flight Bomb Threats, Centre Mulls Serious Steps; Aviation Officials Identify 'Critical Leads'

Representational Image. (PTI)

Flight Hoax Calls: In the wake of the bomb threats received by some airlines in the last few days, the Central government is mulling upon a number of steps to deal with the issue. According to an India Today report, the Centre is planning to put the hoax callers on a 'no-fly list' and increase the number of air marshals on flights.

On Wednesday, officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and Ministry of Home Affairs met to hold discussions on the bomb threats. According to India Today sources, the civil aviation ministry is working closely with law enforcement agencies to identify hoax callers to update the 'no-fly list'. After receiving inputs from the intelligence agencies, a discussion was held about doubling the number of air marshals on planes.

A unit of NSG commandos is deployed as air marshals crucially on international routes and a few sensitive domestic routes. For the unversed, Sky marshals are armed plainclothes security officers who travel on passenger planes.

In the past few days, nearly a dozen Indian flights, including some heading for foreign destinations, have received bomb threats, and nothing suspicious was found in the planes.

The series of bomb threats were discussed in a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on transport, NDTV reported on Wednesday. The meeting was preceded by a discussion between Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu and officials from his ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Aviation officials told MPs "critical leads" and some initial suspects had been identified.

The latest incident occurred on Wednesday when a Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight with more than 180 people on board returned to Delhi following a bomb threat.

The flight QP1335 landed safely at the Delhi airport, news agency PTI reported, citing sources. An emergency was declared at the airport for the aircraft after the bomb threat.

The aircraft has been positioned at an isolation bay, and all necessary procedures are being followed to ensure the safety of passengers and crew, according to Delhi Police.

In a statement, Delhi Police said that a security alert related to a bomb threat was received concerning an Akasa Air flight en route from Delhi to Bangalore.

Following standard safety protocols, the flight was promptly redirected back to IGI Airport, Delhi, where it landed safely.

"The aircraft has been positioned at an isolation bay, and all necessary procedures are being followed to ensure the safety of passengers and crew," Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI Airport) Usha Rangnani said in a police statement. In a statement, Akasa Air said the flight carrying 174 passengers, 3 infants, and 7 crew members received a security alert.

"The captain followed all required emergency procedures, diverted the flight back to Delhi, and landed safely at Indira Gandhi International Airport at 13:48 hrs," it said. Akasa Air said all passengers were deplaned at 13:57 hrs in coordination with the local authorities, who undertook the necessary safety and security checks.

Delhi Police Registers FIR

Delhi Police has registered an FIR in connection with bomb threats to several domestic and international flights in the last two days and launched a probe into the matter, PTI reported, citing official sources on Wednesday.

According to PTI sources, an FIR has been registered at the IGI airport police station as different flights received the threats through a social media handle in the last two days. These aircraft were scheduled to fly to different countries and states, a police officer said. Police said the number of FIRs may increase.

(With PTI Inputs)