NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — A spate of bomb threats hampered several Air India flights, forcing substantial diversions, including some to Canada over the weekend. The bomb threats began on October 14th and forced security measures for international flights headed to Canada and the United States.
An Air India flight from Mumbai to New York (AI119) received a specific security alert, forcing it to divert back to New Delhi. The aircraft, with 239 persons on board, landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport with all onboard safely evacuated and taken to an isolation area for checks by a bomb squad.
Apart from the Mumbai-New York flight, several other Air India flights were also under threat. Delhi-Chicago flight was diverted to Iqaluit Airport, Canada, as a precaution.
Bengaluru to San Francisco and Delhi to Vancouver flights faced not only delays, but also enhanced security checks. Another flight from Delhi to London took hours to process, but was allowed to continue after its safety test was satisfactory.
As nerves started to settle down at the airport after two bomb threats during the week, new reports indicate at least 12 threats had been received within 48 hours of each other. The Ministry of Civil Aviation called for a high-level meeting, in view of the incidents, with some of the threats traced to social media accounts originating from locations in London.
Mumbai authorities apprehended a minor boy suspected of posting the bomb threats online. It has been reported that the teenager reportedly created a social media account to issue the threats as a form of dispute with a friend.
Police said that the threat of every passenger is taken seriously so an investigation has begun.
The investigations are still ongoing, but airports are on high alert. Authorities are calling upon citizens to be extra vigilant in reporting any suspicious movement as they secure international flights with safety.
