A few days ago, Air India’s Boeing 777 received a bomb threat. This plane took off from Mumbai to New York, and after receiving the bomb threat, the plane had to make an emergency landing at Delhi airport. However, during the investigation, nothing suspicious was found in the plane, and this call proved to be fake. Due to this fake call, the airline company must have suffered a loss of crores.
This is not the only case, as a series of threats have been received by passenger planes in the country. On Sunday, more than 25 flights received bomb threats. According to PTI, six planes each of Indigo, Vistara, and Air India received such threats. On Saturday, more than 30 planes received threats, due to which hundreds of passengers were troubled for hours.
In the last week, more than 90 planes have received bomb threats, which later proved false. Due to these threats, the airlines have incurred a loss of up to Rs 200 crore so far, as per sources. After a series of bomb threats, the Home Ministry has sought a detailed report from the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security in this regard. CISF, NIA and IB have also been asked to submit a report.
What happens after a threat?
On receiving information about a bomb in the plane, the flight is made to land at the nearest airport instead of its designated airport. This diversion, apart from consuming more fuel, also leads the airlines to make arrangements to re-check the plane, accommodate the passengers in hotels, and then take them to their destination. According to some media reports, about Rs 3 crore is spent on all this. This week, over 70 domestic and international flights of Vistara, Air India, Indigo, Akasa, SpiceJet, Star Air and Alliance Air have received threats. Due to the threats, a loss of up to 200 crores has been incurred so far. Due to these threats, the airlines are also facing the problem of parking these planes at airports. Then, if diversion is done at a small airport, then parking becomes a major issue for the airlines.
What’s the law to punish the guilty?
According to the Aviation Ministry, after the accused are identified, action is taken against them. It also said that more information is being collected and action is being taken on many such cases. Moreover, all cyber units also track the social media accounts from where the threats originate. After the police trace the persons who issue such threats, action will be taken against them.
It may be noted that spreading fake news is a crime in itself, and if a person spreads bomb threats, gives false threats or spreads rumours he can be jailed for up to 10 years. Along with this, a hefty fine can also be imposed in such cases. If the situation is more serious and if the culprit is found guilty, a case can be registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Additionally, now if anyone is found guilty in such cases, then culprits who spread false threats and rumours will be put on the no-fly list for 5 years, wherein they will not be able to travel in any flight for 5 years.
