Bomb threats received for 25 flights on Sunday
Mumbai/New Delhi, Oct 20: As many as 25 flights of Indian airlines received bomb threats on Sunday, causing hardships to hundreds of passengers and forcing authorities to move scores of planes to isolation bays at airports concerned for detailed checks.
The developments came a day after more than 30 flights of various Indian carriers received bomb threats. This week, nearly 100 flights received threats sending security agencies into a tizzy. The threats later turned out to be hoaxes.
Six flights each of IndiGo, Vistara, Air India and Akasa Air, and at least one flight of Air India Express received the threats on Sunday, according to sources.
In separate statements, an IndiGo spokesperson said the airline is cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 58 (Jeddah to Mumbai), 6E87 (Kozhikode to Dammam), 6E11 (Delhi to Istanbul), 6E17 (Mumbai to Istanbul), 6E133 (Pune to Jodhpur) and 6E112 operating (Goa to Ahmedabad).
Passengers of these flights disembarked safely.
Vistara said it got security threats for six flights -- UK25 (Delhi to Frankfurt), UK106 (Singapore to Mumbai), UK146 (Bali to Delhi), UK116 (Singapore to Delhi), UK110 (Singapore to Pune) and UK107 (Mumbai to Singapore).
"In line with the protocols, all relevant authorities were immediately notified, and security procedures, as directed by them, are being carried out," a Vistara spokesperson said in a statement.
Security alerts were received for six Akasa Air flights -- QP1102 (Ahmedabad to Mumbai), QP 1378 (Delhi to Goa), QP 1385 (Mumbai to Bagdogra), QP 1406 (Delhi to Hyderabad), QP 1519 (Kochi to Mumbai) and QP 1526 (Lucknow to Mumbai).
"Following defined procedures and thorough inspections of six aircraft, they have been released for operations," an Akasa Air spokesperson said in a statement.
The sources also said there were threats for at least six flights of Air India flights. There was no comment from the airline.
An Air India Express flight IX481 from Kochi to Dammam received the bomb threat and the flight landed safely at Dammam, the sources said.
On Sunday, a handle on social media platform X that had issued bomb threats to some flights was blocked.
Against the backdrop of bomb threats, mostly through social media, to airlines, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) held a meeting with representatives of airlines on Saturday.
The civil aviation ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators in the no-fly list.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
