Three Vistara flights receive bomb threats; one diverted to Frankfurt on Friday
New Delhi (PTI): Three international flights of Vistara airline that received bomb threats turned out to be hoaxes while one of the aircrafts was diverted to Frankfurt as a precautionary measure, officials said on Saturday.
In a statement, a Vistara spokesperson said the three flights operating out of Delhi received security threats on social media on Friday and as per protocol, all the relevant authorities were promptly alerted.
The officials said the flights to London, Paris and Hong Kong from the national capital received bomb threats that later turned out to be hoaxes.
"Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London was diverted to Frankfurt as a precautionary measure. The aircraft landed at Frankfurt Airport safely and we fully cooperated with the authorities to complete the necessary checks following which, the flight was cleared to conclude the journey," the spokesperson said.
The flight later landed at London at around 1140 pm local time on Friday.
The airline also said the flight UK21 operating from Delhi to Paris landed safely at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. The aircraft was taken to the isolation bay for the mandatory security checks and then later cleared to resume operations.
According to the airline, the flight UK161 operating from Delhi to Hong Kong landed safely at the Hong Kong International Airport and all security procedures were adhered to.
Meanwhile, Akasa Air on Saturday early morning said its flight QP 1366 scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday received a security alert shortly before departure.
"Hence as per safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deplaned as the local authorities followed necessary procedures. We request your understanding as our team on ground did everything possible to reduce inconvenience," the airline said in a post on X.
A Dubai-Jaipur Air India Express flight made an emergency landing at the Jaipur airport in the early hours of Saturday due to a bomb threat, which later turned out to be a hoax, officials said.
After authorities were alerted about the threat, an emergency was declared at the airport. The flight with 189 passengers onboard landed safely at the airport at 1.20 am, an official said, adding that the plane was checked thoroughly but nothing suspicious was found.
In the past few days, more than 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.
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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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
