Bomb threats to airlines: Centre plans to put perpetrators on no-fly list

After over a dozen bomb threats were received by airlines across India, the central government planned strict norms against the perpetrators.

Published on: Oct 17, 2024, 15:14:31 IST

By HT News Desk

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The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is planning to impose stringent penal rules to prevent hoax security threats after over a dozen airlines received bomb threats over 48 hours this week.

An IndiGo aircraft after it made an emergency landing following a bomb threat, at Jaipur airport on Tuesday. (PTI)

The ministry is planning to put all the perpetrators on the no-fly list, a senior official told PTI on Thursday.

In four days, more than 20 flights of various Indian airlines received bomb threats, including international flights, and some of them were diverted. Most of the threats have turned out to be hoaxes. Some flights got diverted while some airlines had to re-screen all their passengers, causing major inconvenience and delays.

In view of the recent bomb threat incidents, the ministry is looking at amending existing rules, including those related to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), to ensure stringent punishments are in place for the culprits, the official in the know said.

One of the proposals being looked at is placing the perpetrators of the bomb threats on the no-fly list. The MoCA is also gathering legal opinions in order to change the existing rules. The provisions being followed in foreign countries to deal with hoax bomb threats are also being examined by the ministry.

Read more: 20th bomb threat: Vistara flight from Frankfurt declares emergency, lands safely in Mumbai

The ministry is also exploring the option of initiating legislative amendments to have a strong deterrent to prevent people from making hoax bomb threats to airlines.

As of now, there are no strict provisions in the aviation regulations to deal with bomb threats coming from an outside source such as social media, but norms are in place against unruly passenger behaviour onboard flights.

At present, the actions against hoax bomb threat incidents are taken by the police under criminal laws. The MoCA is also holding regular discussions with the home and law ministries to gather inputs regarding the hoax threats.

On Wednesday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said law enforcement agencies are actively pursuing all cases of bomb threats against airlines and the government is closely monitoring the situation.

With inputs from PTI

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HT News Desk
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