New Delhi, October 19 (IANS). Following a series of 70 bomb threats to flights operated by Indian Airlines in just six days, the ‘Bureau of Civil Aviation Security’ (BCAS) held a meeting with the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the airlines here on Saturday.
During the meeting held at the office of the Civil Aviation Ministry at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan, BCAS officials directed the CEO to follow standard operating procedures (SOP) to deal with bomb threats. He underlined the importance of informing all stakeholders about the threats and the measures being implemented in response, sources told IANS.
More than 30 bomb threats were made against flights operated by various airlines on Saturday alone.
Sources said the investigation revealed that some of the IP addresses associated with these threats came from London, Germany, Canada and the US. However, officials also did not rule out the possibility that threat actors may have used VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) to hide their actual locations.
BCAS and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) are expected to issue new guidelines for airlines to deal with bomb threats.
The recent wave of prank calls and threats, which started on Monday, continued daily, causing diversion and delay of many flights.
Vistara said that five of its international flights received security threats on social media. This incident happened on Saturday. Similarly, security alerts were issued to about four IndiGo flights. Other airlines affected include Air India, Air India Express, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Star Air and Alliance Air.
Akasa Air said in a statement, “Some of our flights scheduled to operate on October 19, 2024 have received security alerts today. In accordance with safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deboarded from the aircraft as local authorities have implemented the necessary procedures.” We request you to understand this matter, as our team made every possible effort to minimize the inconvenience.”
–IANS
SCH/CBT
