The Indian government is poised to enact a new law targeting individuals who issue hoax bomb threats against flights, a move arising amidst a surge of such incidents. In under two weeks, more than 120 Indian-operated flights have faced these threats, which caused significant disruptions to airline schedules and inconvenienced thousands of travelers. Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan announced plans to introduce legislation placing offenders on a no-fly list and amending the 1982 Civil Aviation Act to facilitate easier arrests and investigations without court orders.
These threats have notably impacted IndiGo, a prominent Indian airline, which reported that nine flights to Saudi Arabia and Turkey were diverted for security checks following hoax calls. IndiGo stated they coordinated with authorities, implementing standard safety procedures. Despite efforts to identify the pranksters, most remain elusive, though Mumbai police did detain a 17-year-old from Chhattisgarh who is accused of posting threats online in hopes of framing a business rival.
The Press Trust of India highlighted that on a single recent night, 30 domestic and international flights from airlines including IndiGo, Vistara, and Air India received threats. "Even though bomb threats are hoaxes, things cannot be taken non-seriously," Rammohan emphasized. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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