Flights Hit, Pranksters Alert Authorities: Inside India’s Aviation Threat Management

Last Update:28 October 2024 08:38 IST

At a recent APSC (Airport Security Committee) meeting, a monthly meeting on aviation security chaired by a regional director-level officer of BCAS, the delay in the DGCA’s response was flagged.

Bomb threats on flights (PTI photo)

In the past month, more than 500 conflicts, both domestic and international, in India have warned of in-flight bomb explosions. Sunday alone saw bomb threats against at least 50 flights. The same situation was reported on more than 25 flights on Friday.

While the majority of these threats are through social media or emails, security agencies view them as an attempt to disrupt aviation operations in the country as any such threat activates a set of mandatory protocols that consume resources in terms of manpower, time and finances.

Roughly, it takes about 30-40 men and three to four hours to clear any flight that lands when such an emergency is declared on board.

The delay also impacts airlines financially, as aircraft are briefly out of service and cost passengers time as all luggage must be re-scanned and declared safe again.

What Happens If the Captain Declares Mayday?

At around 12.30 pm on Dussehra, the captain of Vistara flight UK624 flying from Udaipur to Mumbai hurriedly alerted the Mumbai Air Traffic Control about a possible bomb threat in his fight. The flight crew found a warning note in one of the toilets that read: “A bomb will explode on this plane at 12.46.” Captain Mayday declared.

After assessing the sensitivity, the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC) declared that the threat was specific as of 12.44 at Mumbai Airport, and all necessary arrangements were made to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew on the aircraft.

However, after the plane landed safely at 12.54 and was taken to the isolation area for deep scanning, it was learned that representatives of India’s main aviation regulatory authority, DGCA (General Directorate of Civil Aviation), had not yet taken action. to arrive.

During such a contingency, the protocol for searching and screening an aircraft requires at least seven stakeholders to be present on the ground: security personnel of the airline concerned, security of the airport operator in question, bomb detection and disposal team CISF, CISF personnel responsible for security of the airport, BCAS and DGCA local police with representatives. After security teams complete a detailed screening of the luggage and the plane, all seven people must sign a flight clearance certificate to declare the plane safe.

However, the screening of UK624 began with a delay of more than an hour and a half when DGCA representatives finally arrived.

However, this was not the only case where the DGCA did not come in such an emergency.

During a similar threat to an IndiGo flight recently, the aviation regulator was delayed by more than an hour.

As a result, at a recent APSC (Airport Security Committee) meeting, a monthly meeting on aviation security chaired by a regional director-level official of BCAS, the delay in the DGCA’s response was flagged and even conveyed to its representatives at the meeting. rapidity in the future. One of the officials at the APSC meeting confirmed this to CNN-News18 on condition of anonymity.

BCAS also asked BTAC not to specifically describe each threat and to evaluate each situation very carefully to leave no room for mishap.

Research Continues

A senior police officer, who requested anonymity, said the source of most of these warnings was questionable. “In many similar threat cases, we have found that the intellectual property belongs to another country. However, they are routed through virtual private networks to deceive law enforcement. Largely, mischievous threats are intended to deflect law enforcement, waste their time, money and manpower, and disrupt flight operations.” “It appears to be an attempt, but since the threats are numerous and ongoing, it appears to be coordinated and organized,” the officer said.

However, there have also been one-off cases where some miscreants trying to attract attention among the ongoing threats were pursued and caught by the police.

When two suspicious and possible bomb threat messages were received from a social media account at Delhi’s IGI Airport in the early hours of Saturday, the source of the alerts was identified as an account registered in the name of Uttam resident Shubham Upadhyay. Nagar in Delhi.

Based on manual intelligence and technical surveillance, a suspicious 25-year-old male was captured by the police following a raid.

However, during interrogation, he admitted that he sent these messages to attract attention after seeing similar news on television. Police said that the person was arrested while the investigation into the matter continues.

How Did Airlines Respond?

Airlines were also quick to respond to such threats.

IndiGo said in a statement on Sunday: “Ensuring the safety and security of our customers and crew remains paramount in all aspects of our operations. We are working closely with the relevant authorities and mandatory checks are currently ongoing.”

In a similar statement last Tuesday, Vistara said: “We confirm that some of Vistara’s flights have received security threats on social media. “We immediately alerted the relevant authorities and are following all security procedures as instructed by them.”

Airlines have also used social media to warn passengers in real time about diversions and delays caused by such threats.