46 flight bomb threats this week posted by same X account
The account – adamlanza1111 – has since been suspended.
Amid the wave of hoax bomb threats to Indian airlines, with as many as 70 such posts made during the current week, nearly 70% were from to be from a single source: an anonymous and unverified account on X that posted threats to 46 domestic and international flights of Indian carriers in two days.
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The handle – @adamlanza1111 – made 12 threats on Friday night and 34 on Saturday, The Indian Express reported, adding that the user also began posting threats to international carriers such as American Airlines, Jet Blue, and Air New Zealand.
Active till Saturday afternoon, the handle has since been suspended by the Elon Musk-owned social media platform, previously called Twitter.
Indian carriers threatened by adamlanza1111
These include Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, Akasa Air, Alliance Air, SpiceJet, and Star Air. While Star Air received threats for four of its flights, others got similar messages for five flights each.
Also Read | Agencies look for pattern in bomb threats to airlines
The posts had an identical message: “There are bombs onboard five of your planes…No one will make out alive. Hurry up and evacuate the plane.”
Some of the flights were airborne when the threats were posted, while others had already completed their journey.
BCAS takes stock
Meanwhile, on Saturday evening, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the aviation safety body, met representatives of airlines at its headquarters in Delhi.
During the meeting, led by BCAS chief Zulfiquar Hasan, DG, BCAS, the representatives discussed issues being faced due to the threats. Hasan told them to follow safety and security guidelines strictly.
After the meeting, Hassan, in an interaction with the media, said safety protocols to deal with such threats are ‘robust’ and passengers should fly 'without fear.'