Over 30 flights receive bomb threats on Saturday; BCAS holds meeting with airlines
New Delhi/ Mumbai, Oct 19: More than 30 flights operated by Indian airlines received bomb threats on Saturday, sending security agencies into a tizzy and causing hardships to hundreds of passengers as well as staff at airports.
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) held a meeting with CEOs and representatives of airlines in the national capital.
Flights of Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, Akasa Air, SpiceJet, Star Air, and Alliance Air received bomb threats on Saturday, sources in the know said.
So far this week, more than 70 domestic and international flights of Indian airlines have received bomb threats, with most of them turning out to be hoaxes.
As many as six flights of Vistara, five each of IndiGo and Akasa Air received security threats, according to the airlines.
The sources said more than 30 flights received bomb threats mostly through social media since Saturday morning. In at least one of the flights, a note was found in the lavatory saying there was a bomb in the flight.
The five flights of Vistara that received threats are UK106 (Singapore to Mumbai), UK027 (Mumbai to Frankfurt), UK107 (Mumbai to Singapore), UK121 (Delhi to Bangkok) and UK131 (Mumbai to Colombo).
"Following the protocol, all relevant authorities were promptly alerted and all security procedures are being adhered to, as per the guidance from the authorities and security agencies," an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
Besides, there was a security concern regarding Vistara flight UK624 from Udaipur to Mumbai, and after landing, the aircraft was taken to an isolation bay for mandatory checks.
A note was found in the lavatory of the aircraft saying there is a bomb in the flight, a source in the know said.
Also, the airline's flight UK027 from Mumbai to Frankfurt had a security concern and the flight landed safely at the Frankfurt airport. In the morning, the flight had received a bomb threat through social media.
Akasa Air received security threats for five flights -- QP 1323 (Bengaluru to Guwahati), QP 1371 (Goa to Mumbai), QP 1373 (Bagdogra to Bengaluru), QP 1385 (Mumbai to Bagdogra), and QP 1405 (Hyderabad to Delhi).
"Following defined procedures and after thorough inspections of all five aircraft, they have been released," an airline spokesperson said.
IndiGo issued statements for five flights in relation to threats received by them. They are 6E17 (Mumbai to Istanbul), 6E11 (Delhi to Istanbul), 6E184 (Jodhpur to Delhi), 6E108 (Hyderabad to Chandigarh), and 6E58 (Jeddah to Mumbai).
Regarding the two flights to Istanbul, the airline said the passengers disembarked safely.
The Jodhpur-Delhi flight, the carrier said, landed in the national capital and customers have disembarked the aircraft.
About the Hyderabad-Chandigarh flight, and Jeddah-Mumbai flight, IndiGo said upon landing, the aircraft were isolated and all passengers were safely disembarked.
Among others, an Alliance Air flight from Kochi to Bengaluru received a bomb threat.
With a significant number of flights receiving threats, passengers as well as staff at some of the airports faced a tough time since the planes concerned were moved to isolation bays and security protocol had to be followed.
The handle on X, through which some of the bomb threats to flights were issued, has been deactivated.
Meanwhile, 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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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
