Several false bomb threats cause chaos in air traffic
India - Over the past few days, several Indian airline flights have beenaffected by massive delays or detour. This was due to bomb threats that were spread via an X account.
The airlines affected were Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Akasa Air, as reported bythe BBC. It was only on Monday that three flights from Mumbai were the target of the threats. Yesterday, Tuesday, a total of seven aircraft were unable to take off as planned.
The threats originated from an account on Platform X, which has since been blocked. In the posts with the threats, the user had marked the police and airline as well as the corresponding flight number.
In a statement, Air India said it was working with the local authorities to find the person responsible. Legal action is also being considered to compensate for the damage caused.
Every bomb threat, even if it turns out to be false in retrospect, causes a lot of work. In most cases, all passengers have to leave the plane with their hand luggage.
The plane is then completely re-inspected by security teams and engineers, which leads to delays and several thousand euros in damage.
Increased caution is also required in other countries
Ng Eng Hen, Singapore's defense minister, said on Tuesday that a flight from India to Singapore was escorted by two fighter jets. "After landing, the plane was handed over to the airport police. Investigations are ongoing," he said.
Another Air India plane on its way to Chicago had to stop over at Canada's Iqaluit airport to be investigated by local police.
A Canadian Air Force plane will then take the passengers to their destination. It is not yet clear when the Air India plane will be allowed to take off again.