(MENAFN- Khaama Press) Indian media reported that over the past eight days, the country's airlines have received more than 70 fake bomb threats. These threats led to some flights being canceled, others rerouted, and several international flights escorted by fighter jets.
According to Indian reports, all flights that received bomb threats landed safely without incident.
Since Sunday, October 13, unverified social media accounts have been posting bomb threats targeting Indian and international airlines.
On Sunday, October 20, The Indian Express reported that in just two days-Friday and Saturday-a single account on X issued 46 bomb threats against Indian, American, and New Zealand airlines.
The account threatened,“Bombs have been placed on the planes. No one will survive. Hurry and evacuate the aircraft.” However, all of these warnings were hoaxes, and the account has been suspended since Saturday evening.
Despite being false alarms, these threats caused significant disruptions to domestic and international flights, with some flights being canceled, rerouted, or making emergency landings. In some cases, planes were escorted by fighter jets over the UK and Singapore.
The disruptions also affected global flight schedules and imposed significant financial costs on airlines.
In a related incident, an Indian Vistara Airlines flight was denied access to Afghanistan's airspace due to a bomb threat. After briefly entering Afghanistan's airspace, the flight, carrying 240 passengers, was forced to return to India.
These incidents have caused serious delays and raised concerns about air travel safety, while Indian authorities have launched investigations to identify those responsible for the fake bomb threats.
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