Surge in bomb hoaxes, Know how aviation security responds
New Delhi: A wave of consecutive bomb threats targeting multiple flights over the past week has disrupted airline operations and sparked serious concerns about aviation security protocols in India. Although all the threats were confirmed to be hoaxes, they caused significant delays and inconvenience for passengers and crew members, prompting airlines to initiate anti-terror protocols.
Airlines alerted the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and sought its support for a coordinated response to the threats. The disruptions have raised questions about handling such incidents, even when the probability of a real threat remains minimal.
“We are aware that 99.99 percent of these threats are false alarms. However, no one can afford to ignore the 0.01 percent chance that one may be genuine. This is why, despite stringent pre-departure checks at airports, we treat every threat with the utmost seriousness,” a senior MoCA official told The Indian Express.
When a mid-air flight receives a bomb threat, an immediate alert is issued, and the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) at the nearest airport convenes to evaluate the situation. Depending on the credibility of the threat, pilots coordinate with Air Traffic Control (ATC) to decide whether to return to the point of departure, proceed to the destination, or divert to an alternative airport.
For grounded flights facing similar threats, the aircraft is moved to a remote bay for thorough inspection under BTAC supervision. In cases involving international flights already beyond Indian airspace, Indian authorities collaborate with international ATC and security agencies to determine the next course of action, often diverting the flight to the nearest airport.
The spate of bomb hoaxes has prompted the Indian government and MoCA to explore long-term measures to prevent further disruptions. “These hoax threats are being taken very seriously by the aviation regulator. They are working toward identifying sustainable solutions,” said Asangba Chuba Ao, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, addressing reporters on Sunday.
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Maharashtra Congress chief Patole meets Kharge, dismisses resignation talk as 'rumours'
New Delhi, Nov 25: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Monday dismissed as "rumours" talk of his resignation following the assembly polls debacle and stressed on "collective accountability" for the defeat.
Patole made the remarks after meeting Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge during which he conveyed that the result had not reflected the sentiments of the people of Maharashtra.
"Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other national and state leaders were leading Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) from the forefront during the assembly polls. So, we were sure that the trends were in favour of Maha Vikas Aghadi, even the citizens believed that," the Maharashtra Congress chief said.
"If I talk about Nanded, the Lok Sabha bypolls and assembly elections were held on the same day. In Lok Sabha bypolls, our candidate was winning in six assembly seats, whereas, in the assembly elections, we are not winning even a single seat," he said, adding that there cannot be such a "huge difference".
This is the sentiment among the people also and they have stated that this government in Maharashtra was not being formed on their votes, he claimed.
"So, I spoke to Mallikarjun Kharge on this," he added.
Asked whether he had offered to resign or the party had asked for his resignation after the Maharashtra assembly polls defeat, Patole said, "These are all rumours and there is no truth in them. There is collective accountability."
Patole also said he will meet Rahul Gandhi in a day or two and discuss all issues.
"Democracy is being finished. We have discussed that... there was no talk of resignation," he said.
The MVA alliance, comprising the Congress, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Shiv Sena (UBT), was restrained to 46 seats by the Mahayuti that reaped a rich harvest of 230 seats in the 288-member House.
