 "Centre issues new guidelines to handle bomb threats on flights; details")
The Ministry of Civil Aviation has introduced updated protocols in response to a surge in bomb threats, with over 500 received within the past 16 days. According to a report in CNN-News18, the mandate requires a comprehensive assessment of each threat, including the origin and credibility of the source, to determine whether the threat is specific or non-specific.
The revised guidelines from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security outline several new indicators for assessing threats, which now include factors such as the identity and potential organisational affiliations of the person making the threat, any motive behind the threat, whether it was issued from a verified social media account, and whether high-profile individuals are targeted.
These updated criteria are designed to optimise the response to the high volume of threats, which sometimes reach as many as 50 in a single day, and to conserve resources, manpower, and operational costs.
Recent arrests and investigative efforts
The spike in bomb threats has led to heightened security across Indian airports, and several arrests have been made in this connection. On October 29, Nagpur Police’s Special Branch identified 35-year-old Jagdish Uikey as a key suspect in a series of hoax threats. However, he remains at large. Earlier, on 17 October, a 17-year-old was arrested in Mumbai for allegedly posting bomb threats on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), and shortly after, a 25-year-old in Delhi was detained for emailing similar hoaxes to airlines and Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Authorities report that most threats originated from abroad, with Civil Aviation Minister (MoS) Murlidhar Mohol estimating that up to 80 per cent were issued from outside India. Meanwhile, other threats from within the country are under investigation by local police forces. On October 22 alone, around 50 flights, including 13 each of IndiGo and Air India received bomb threats.
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To address this issue, the Indian government has warned social media platforms, including X, about the need to promptly remove such misinformation, stating that failure to do so could lead to “consequential action”. Officials underscore that these threats, though often hoaxes, disrupt public order and endanger economic stability. Due to these threats, Indian airlines have had to divert international flights and make emergency landings in foreign countries, including Canada, Germany, and Turkey.
Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring public safety, promising that those found responsible for such threats would face prosecution.