Canadian national detained for hoax bomb threat in Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight
IndiGo crew promptly informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) after the individual threatened fellow passengers
A Canadian national was arrested from a Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi for creating a panic among passengers by claiming that he was carrying a bomb, police said on Sunday.
The incident took place on Saturday night, and the Canadian has been detained by security personnel for further questioning.
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Panic struck IndiGo passengers on Saturday night after the Canadian allegedly threatened fellow travellers that he was carrying a bomb.
Puneet Gupta, the airport director, said the flight was quickly moved to the isolation bay for a thorough inspection, and the threat was found to be a hoax.
Gupta said the IndiGo crew promptly informed the Air Traffic Control (ATC) after the individual threatened fellow passengers.
Officials said that the flight was grounded and inspected as per standard security protocols. A detailed probe is also underway. The concerned flight departed for Bengaluru after receiving clearance from security agencies.
Akash Patel, DCP of Gomti zone in Varanasi, said, “The passenger Nishant, who gave this information, a citizen of Canada, was handed over to the Police. All the security agencies interrogated him, and it was revealed that he had given false information to delay the airport operations. FIR is being registered against him under the appropriate sections, Canada High Comission will also be informed.”
Bomb threat at Thiruvananthapuram airport
Earlier on Sunday, the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala received a bomb threat via email. The incident occurred after several hotels in the state capital were threatened similarly.
A Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the airport said that bomb disposal squads have been deployed, and thorough inspections of all terminals are underway.
Airline operators across India received a total of 728 hoax bomb threats in 2024, and 13 concerned individuals were arrested, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol told Parliament in February.
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The minister said in his written reply, citing data from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (bcas), IndiGo saw the maximum bomb hoax calls (216), followed by Air India (179), former airline Vistara (153), Akasa Air (72), SpiceJet (35), Alliance Air (26), Air India Express (19), and Star Air (5).
“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,” he said.
