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Agence France-Presse

More than 70 fake bomb threats have been made against flights operated by multiple Indian airlines this week, Indian media reported on Sunday, sparking fear among passengers and global delays.
All flights landed safely, but the spate of threats has resulted in planes being diverted to Canada and Germany, and fighter jets scrambled to escort aircraft in the skies above Britain and Singapore.
India’s government and civil aviation authorities have warned that “very strict action” will be taken.
New Delhi’s civil aviation authorities have not said how many threats have been received in the past week, but the Times of India and broadcaster News18 reported more than 70 hoaxes targeting both domestic and international flights since October 13.
At least 30 hoax threats were made on Saturday alone.

The global impact of delays and diversions has been heavy on airline schedules and costs.
At least one person – a minor – has been arrested in India, but the threats have continued.
“All others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and duly prosecuted,” India’s aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said after the arrest on Wednesday.
A report in The Indian Express said that an anonymous account on the X platform was suspended after posting bomb threats to at least 40 flights on Friday and Saturday.
This included both Indian and international airlines, including from the United States and New Zealand.

“There are bombs placed on board … No one will make out alive. Hurry up and evacuate the plane,” read the identical messages from the suspended account, the newspaper reported.
Among recent flights affected was an Air India flight from Mumbai to New York, with US security officials sweeping the plane after its safe landing on Saturday.
Other flights affected included an Air India plane from Delhi to Chicago, which was forced to make an emergency landing in the far northern Canadian city of Iqaluit on Tuesday.
Canada’s air force had to fly the passengers on.
On the same day, Singapore scrambled fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane.
On Thursday, British RAF fighter jets escorted an Air India Boeing 777-300 after a threat was made against the plane, which landed safely in London.
On Friday, a Vistara flight from Delhi to London had to divert to Frankfurt in Germany.


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India

Hoax bomb threats plague India’s airlines – with 30 in 1 day

Planes queue up on the tarmac before taking off at an airport in Mumbai, India. Photo: AFP

An anonymous account on the X social media platform was suspended after posting bomb threats to at least 40 flights. Photo: AFP

An Air India aircraft on the tarmac at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. The carrier has had several flights affected by the hoax threats. Photo: Bloomberg

Turbulent times for Malaysia Airlines as flight U-turns, talent troubles soar

Malaysia Airlines’ aircraft parked on the tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Fresh from announcing its return to profitability after a decade of losses, the carrier now faces renewed scrutiny. Photo: AFP

Flowers and plush toys are left at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014. Photo: AFP

Izham Ismail, Malaysia Aviation Group managing director, has faced numerous challenges during his time in charge. Photo: AFP

An engineer checks the jet engine of an aircraft. Malaysia Airlines lost a large number of experienced engineers in recent years. Photo: AFP

Christophe Mueller’s brief but impactful tenure as CEO saw the airline slash one-third of its workforce. Photo: Reuters

A man walks pasts a mural representing the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in 2015. Photo: AFP

Transport Minister Anthony Loke has come under fire from some quarters for not doing more to help Malaysia Airlines. Photo: EPA-EFE

Some critics blame Singapore Airlines for poaching engineering talent away from its former stablemate. Photo: AFP

India’s air force faces critical shortfall vs China-Pakistan dual threat

A HAL Tejas fighter jet of the Indian Air Force. Photo: AFP

Ageing Jaguar fighter jets of the Indian Air Force perform a fly-past in Chennai on October 1. Photo: AFP

A French Rafale jet flies over an India Tejas fighter at an air show in Bengaluru in 2019. Photo: AFP

Ready for takeoff: India’s aviation sector sets sights on growth despite bumpy start to 2024

An Air India aircraft flies over Mumbai. some analysts view the recent problems as seasonal or isolated incidents that do not accurately reflect the overall health of the aviation sector. Photo: Bloomberg

An Air India Boeing aircraft at the India Aviation 2010 show at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad. Photo: AFP

An Air India passenger plane passes the sun on a smoggy morning in Ahmedabad. India, the world’s third-largest civil aviation market, transported over 153 million passengers last year, with the government aiming to double that number by 2030. Photo: Reuters

News

Asia

South Asia

An anonymous account on the X platform was reportedly behind bomb threats to at least 40 flights. India has threatened ‘very strict action’


An anonymous account on the X platform was reportedly behind bomb threats to at least 40 flights. India has threatened ‘very strict action’.
