At 90 bomb threats per week. Air India flooded with fake threats
A dramatic and unprecedented increase in fake bomb threats against Indian airlines is causing chaos in flight schedules, diversion of aircraft and widespread disruption to air traffic. Who and why has the Indian Airlines fallen? BBC News is trying to find an answer to this question.
Videos on social media captured passengers wrapped in woolen blankets stepping off an Air India plane into the frigid air of Iqaluit, a remote Canadian city. It was there that on October 15, a Boeing 777 with 211 passengers, originally headed from Mumbai to Chicago, was diverted.
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“We have been stuck at the airport since five in the morning with 200 passengers… We have no idea what is happening and what to do next,” one of the passengers, Harit Sachdeva, wrote on the social network. He praised the “kind airport staff” and argued that Air India was not doing enough to inform passengers.
Sachdev’s post captured the frustration and anxiety of travelers who find themselves in an unknown, faraway destination. A few hours later, a Canadian Air Force plane brought the stranded passengers to Chicago to end their ordeal. Air India confirmed that the flight was diverted to Iqaluit due to a “security threat posted on the internet”.
At least 90 threats came in a week
That threat was a hoax — as were dozens of similar ones directed at Indian airlines this year. In just one week in October, there were at least 90 threats that led to flight diversions, cancellations and delays. In June, 41 airports received fake bomb threats by email in a single day, prompting increased security measures.
In comparison, between 2014 and 2017, authorities recorded 120 false bomb alarms at Indian airports, with nearly half involving the largest airports in Delhi and Mumbai. Thus, similar threats are nothing new or unusual, but their increase this year is unprecedented. So what’s going on?
According to experts, fake airline bombing threats are often linked to an attempt to cause damage or gain attention. Psychological problems can also play a role, it can be an attempt to disrupt traffic, or a twisted prank.
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A shocked passenger also reported the bomb
In 2018, a wave of similar “pranks” about alleged bombs on board planes disrupted air traffic in Indonesia. And passengers themselves can be to blame: last year, a frustrated passenger tried to delay a SpiceJet flight by sounding a false bomb alarm after missing check-in at an airport in Bihar, India.
The result of this fake news is increasing chaos in one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, more than 150 million passengers flew on domestic routes in India last year. Every day, more than 3,000 flights arrive and depart from more than 150 airports in the country, including 33 international ones.
Indian airlines carried 484,263 passengers on October 14, a record for a single day in the country. According to Rob Morris of the consultancy Cirium, India has about 700 commercial airliners in operation and orders for another 1,700. “This makes India the fastest growing market for commercial aircraft today,” Morris said.
A bomb alarm has significant consequences for an airline. If the plane is in the air, it must head to the nearest airport – like the aforementioned Air India flight, which had to be diverted to Canada, or the Vistara flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt, which was diverted to Turkey in September. Some bomb alerts involve the deployment of fighter jets to escort the threatened aircraft, as happened last week with an Air India flight to Heathrow over Norfolk and an Air India Express flight to Singapore.
Every diverted flight means a cost
After landing on the ground, passengers exit the aircraft and all luggage, cargo and catering are thoroughly inspected. This can take several hours and it often happens that the same crew cannot continue the flight due to working hours. In such a case, a replacement crew must be provided, which prolongs the delay.
“All of this has significant implications for costs and the airline network. Every diverted or delayed flight comes at a significant cost, as aircraft grounded due to a bomb threat at an airport become loss-making assets. Delays lead to flight cancellations and flight schedules are disrupted,” said Sidharát Kapúr, an independent aviation expert.
A dramatic increase in bomb threats on social media from anonymous accounts is complicating efforts to identify the perpetrators. Motives remain unclear, as does whether the threats are from a single person, a group, or a copycat.
Indian authorities this month arrested a 17-year-old schoolboy who created a social media account to post similar threats. His motivation remains unclear, but he is believed to have targeted four flights, including three international ones, resulting in two delays, one diversion and one cancellation.
Investigators checking IP addresses suspect some of the fake bomb threats may have originated in London and Germany. It is clear that tracking down the authors of similar threats is a significant problem – and prosecuting and convicting them can be just as problematic.
