Bomb threat against IndiGo, Air India, Vistara: Center asks Meta, X to share data as over 250 flights receive hoax threats

New Delhi, Oct 24 (PTI) – The government has asked social media platforms Meta and A flight was threatened.

The government has also asked top multinational technology groups to work with it to help identify those behind such scam calls, saying it is in the public interest, people familiar with the matter said.

In 11 days, more than 250 flights operated by Air India received bomb threats. Most threats are made via social media.

According to senior government sources, the government has traced some of the perpetrators and is taking appropriate action.

However, they did not provide specific details such as the source of these hoax messages and who is behind them.

“The government has asked social media companies Meta and X to share data on such prank calls and messages targeting multiple airlines on their platforms and asked them to cooperate,” one of the sources said.

The source also said that “they have to cooperate and provide data because it involves the entire public interest.” This was in response to a query about whether social media companies are cooperating with the government on this issue.

More than 80 domestic and international flights of various Indian airlines received bomb threats on Thursday, sources said.

Sources said that around 20 flights each of Air India, Vistara and IndiGo were subject to bomb threats, while 13 flights of Alkasa Air were subject to bomb threats. Additionally, around five flights each of Alliance Airlines and SpiceJet have received threats, they added.

An IndiGo spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday that the airline received safety-related alerts for 20 flights.

An Alcazar Air spokesperson said that as many as 13 Alcazar Air flights operating on Thursday received safety alerts and after thorough inspections, all relevant aircraft have been allowed to resume operations.

“Airport services teams at all affected airports are coordinating with local authorities to ensure the situation is dealt with effectively, including the safe disembarkation of passengers and the provision of assistance and refreshments as required,” a spokesman said in a statement.

A Vistara spokesperson said in a statement that some of the company’s flights had received security threats on social media on Thursday.

At least six flights to and from the Kochi airport received bomb threats on Thursday. This includes a SpiceJet flight from Dubai to Kochi, airport sources said.

An unknown caller’s threat to blow up the Dumna airport in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday turned out to be a hoax, a police officer said.

Earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister Ramohan Naidu said the government planned to take legislative action to deal with bomb threats against airlines, including placing perpetrators of such threats on a no-fly list.