Several flights operated by Indian carriers were affected after a bomb threat was made on X over a span of two days. The account has since been suspended.
By: Haotian
Published on: 15 October 2024, 11.12pm
Several domestic and international flights were affected. Photo: Air India
Several flights that were operated by carriers based in India, such as Air India, Indigo, and Air India Express, received bomb threats via an account on X. As a result, two flights were diverted, and multiple others were delayed and disrupted.
On 14 October 2024, 3 international flights originating from Mumbai received a bomb threat from the account, including an Air India flight to New York's John F Kennedy Airport. After thorough investigations, the claims turned out to be false.
Just a day later, 7 more flights, including a flight from Madurai to Singapore, received similar threats. The flights that were affected were:
Air India Express flight IX765 from Jaipur International Airport to Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport via Ayodhya Maharshi Valmiki International Airport
SpiceJet flight SG116 from Darbhanga Airport to Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport
Akasa Air flight QP1373 from Bagdogra International Airport to Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport
Air India flight AI127 from Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport
Indigo flight 6E98 from Dammam King Fahd International Airport to Lucknow Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport
Air India Express flight IX684 from Madurai Airport to Singapore Changi International Airport
Alliance Air flight 9I650 from Amritsar Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport to Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport via Dehradun Jolly Grant Airport
All of the flights landed safely. However, some of the flights were diverted, such as AI127, which was diverted to the remote Iqaluit Airport in Canada, and 6E98, which was diverted to Jaipur Airport and was subsequently parked at an isolated stand. IX684, on the other hand, was escorted by F-15SG fighters from the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) as it approached Singapore as part of precautionary measures.
AI127 was diverted to one of the most remote airports in Canada. Photo: Flightradar24
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has procured the help of Indian cyber-security agencies, as well as the police to trace the origin of the threats. All the affected airlines have since implemented heightened security measures while investigations are underway, as instructed by the Indian government.
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