New Delhi, Mumbai: More than 30 flights of various Indian airlines, including Vistara, Air India and IndiGo, received bomb threats on Saturday, according to sources.
Flights of Air India, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Vistara, SpiceJet, Star Air and Alliance Air have received the threats, the sources said.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security on Saturday held a meeting with airline representatives concerning hoax bomb threats on Indian flights in the last few days. Following the meeting, the BCAS Director General Zulfiquar Hasan said, “Indian skies are safe. The current protocol (to deal with the situation) is robust and is being strictly followed. We reassure passengers that they should fly without any fear and fly even more.”
During the meeting, the BCAS team acknowledged the pressure and congestion such threats cause at airports and airlines and told them not to take threats lightly and to follow all safety protocols.
So far this week, at least 70 flights of Indian carriers have received bomb threats and most of them turned out to be hoaxes.
The sources said more than 30 flights, including domestic and international ones, operated by domestic airlines have received bomb threats through social media since Saturday morning. In at least one of the flights, a note was found in the lavatory saying there was a bomb in the flight.
On Saturday, Vistara said five of its flights on international routes received security threats through social media while IndiGo said at least four of its flights got security-related alerts.
The five flights of Vistara are UK106 (Singapore to Mumbai), UK027 (Mumbai to Frankfurt), UK107 (Mumbai to Singapore), UK121 (Delhi to Bangkok) and UK131 (Mumbai to Colombo).
“Following the protocol, all relevant authorities were promptly alerted and all security procedures are being adhered to, as per the guidance from the authorities and security agencies,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
Besides, there was a security concern regarding Vistara flight UK624 from Udaipur to Mumbai,
and after landing, the aircraft was taken to an isolation bay for mandatory checks.
A note was found in the lavatory of the aircraft saying there is a bomb in the flight, a source in the know said.
IndiGo issued statements for at least four flights with respect to the threats. They are 6E17 (Mumbai to Istanbul), 6E11 (Delhi to Istanbul), 6E184 (Jodhpur to Delhi) and 6E108 (Hyderabad to Chandigarh).
The airline said it is cognisant of a situation involving flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Istanbul.
Regarding the Jodhpur to Delhi flight, the carrier said the plane landed in the national capital and customers have disembarked the aircraft.
About Hyderabad to Chandigarh flight, IndiGo said that upon landing, the aircraft was isolated and all passengers were safely disembarked. Sources said that the plane was being checked at Chandigarh airport thoroughly by the airport authorities at the isolation bay.