Indian airlines received 728 bomb threats in 2024, mostly domestic carriers

The government on Monday said 13 people were arrested in 2024 in connection with hoax bomb threats to airlines.

Last year, a total of 728 bomb threats were received by airlines and out of them, 714 were received by domestic carriers, according to data shared by the civil aviation ministry in Rajya Sabha.

Citing data from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said 728 hoax bomb threats were received by airline operators in 2024.

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Among the Indian airlines, IndiGo received the highest number of bomb threats at 216, followed by Air India (179), Vistara (153), Akasa Air (72), SpiceJet (35), Alliance Air (26), Air India Express (19) and Star Air (14).

The total figure includes 14 bomb threats received by foreign carriers. Emirates and Air Arabia received five and three such threats, respectively, last year while one threat each was received by Aeroflot, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Nok Air, and Thai Lion Air, as per the data.

"Total 13 persons have been arrested in 2024 in connection with hoax bomb threats," he said in a written reply.

BCAS has mandated robust protocols for handling such threats and as part of the Bomb Threat Contingency Plan (BTCP), every airport has a designated Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) which analyses the threat and act accordingly.

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"In order to deal with hoax bomb threats, BCAS has issued advisories to all the civil aviation stakeholders in the country to ensure streamlined security measures and to prevent any unlawful interference with civil aviation," the minister said.