An IndiGo flight (6E 7308) traveling from Jabalpur to Hyderabad was diverted to Nagpur on Sunday due to a bomb threat. Upon arrival, all passengers were safely disembarked, and comprehensive security checks were conducted, the airline said in a statement. IndiGo apologized for the disruption: “Passengers were provided with assistance and refreshments, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused.”
In recent months, hoax bomb threats targeting airports and hospitals have surged. On June 18, 41 airports, including those in Jaipur, Chennai, and Varanasi, received bomb threats via email, prompting hours-long anti-sabotage checks, which ultimately revealed all threats to be false.
These hoax alerts severely disrupt flight schedules and necessitate extensive inspections of passengers, luggage, and aircraft. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has proposed a five-year flight ban for individuals found guilty of such acts. Previously, on August 22, a bomb threat on an Air India flight arriving from Mumbai prompted a full emergency declaration at Thiruvananthapuram airport. The flight was directed to an isolation bay, and all 135 passengers were evacuated safely.
The issue of false bomb threats extends beyond airports. On June 17, a 13-year-old boy was detained for sending a hoax bomb threat email to Delhi Airport regarding a Dubai-bound flight, putting Indira Gandhi International Airport on high alert. Earlier, around 60 hospitals across Mumbai received similar hoax emails claiming bombs were planted on their premises. Mumbai police revealed that these emails, sent via Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), targeted public hospital email addresses, further complicating the matter.
Read Also: Kangana Ranaut Accuses Rajat Sharma of Bias in Explosive Interview, Calls It a “Conspiracy”