Bomb threat forces Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight to return amid wave of hoax calls
PTC News Desk: A Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight was forced to return to Delhi on Wednesday due to a bomb threat, marking the 11th such threat to aircraft in the last 48 hours. This alarming trend has raised significant concerns about aviation safety and security in India.
In addition to the Akasa Air flight, several other flights have also reported bomb threats. These include an Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago, a Dammam-Lucknow IndiGo flight, an Ayodhya-Bengaluru Air India Express flight, a SpiceJet flight from Darbhanga to Mumbai (SG116), an Akasa Air flight from Bagdogra to Bengaluru (QP 1373), an Alliance Air flight from Amritsar to Dehradun and Delhi (9I 650), and an Air India Express flight (IX 684) from Madurai to Singapore, all of which received similar threats on Tuesday alone.
The situation escalated on Monday, when two IndiGo flights and one Air India flight also received hoax threats. The affected flights included an Air India flight AI119 from Mumbai to New York's JFK Airport, IndiGo flight 6E1275 bound for Muscat, and flight 6E56 heading to Jeddah.
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In response to the escalating threats, a Parliamentary Standing Committee convened at 11 AM to discuss the situation. Prior to this, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu held a meeting with officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to address the growing concern.
Sources indicate that some suspects have been identified, and authorities are actively monitoring the dark web for further leads related to these threats. The series of bomb threats highlights a critical need for enhanced security measures within the aviation sector to ensure the safety of passengers and crew.