Indian airlines have faced unprecedented disruption over the past week, with some 90 hoax bomb threats grounding and diverting domestic and international flights.
Major Indian carriers like Air India, Vistara, SpiceJet and IndiGo have been targeted, but international carriers such as American Airlines, JetBlue and Air New Zealand have also recently diverted flights due to threats.
The warnings, primarily delivered via email or social media, have caused significant chaos in and around India, with regulations forcing airlines to act on every threat.
According to The Guardian, numerous planes have been rerouted, escorted by fighter jets or made emergency landings in countries like Turkey and Germany. Some flights have also had to turn back to India, like a recent Vistara flight for which Afghanistan denied an emergency landing request.
The threats, including 30 on Saturday alone, have severely impacted India’s booming aviation industry, which served 152 million domestic passengers in 2023, while carriers face mounting financial losses as passengers experience delays lasting days.
Authorities have yet to determine the source of the threats but have made one arrest and introduced stricter penalties, including placing hoaxers on a no-fly list, the Guardian reported.
The recent surge in threats is unprecedented compared to the 120 threats received by Indian airlines between 2014 and 2017, with officials working to identify a clear pattern behind the attacks.
In a statement, Indian Minister of Civil Aviation Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said he is “deeply concerned over the recent disruptive acts targeting Indian airlines”.
“Such mischievous and unlawful actions are a matter of grave concern, and I strongly condemn any attempts to compromise the safety, security and operational integrity of our aviation sector,” he added.
“I am monitoring the situation regularly, and our law enforcement agencies are pursuing all the cases actively.
“I assure all the stakeholders, including passengers and industry partners, that possible effort is being made to safeguard the operations.
“The safety and security of passengers remains my utmost priority.”
After one of its Chicago-bound flights was diverted to Iqaluit Airport in Canada, where passengers were grounded for three days before being flown out by a Canadian Air Force plane, Air India said it had been subject to “a number of threats in recent days”.
“Though all have subsequently been found to be hoaxes, as a responsible airline operator all threats are taken seriously. The inconvenience to customers is sincerely regretted,” India’s national carrier said in a statement.
“Air India is extending cooperation to authorities in identifying the perpetrators of such threats to ensure that they are held accountable for the disruption and inconvenience caused to passengers.”
The carrier’s CEO and Managing Director, Campbell Wilson, recently said the airline is preparing to expand its Australian operations with more flights and an ambitious transformation that aims to elevate both service quality and network connectivity.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) currently advises Aussies to “exercise a high degree of caution in India” – its second lowest travel advice level.
