India’s aviation industry is in complete disarray as more than 90 flights have received bomb threats in just a week with more than half of those calls being received during a single weekend.

The issue has reached an unprecedented magnitude as historical records indicate that the number of threats the industry received from 2014 to 2017 stood at 120 – in total.

The crisis is unfolding at a terrible time for the industry as it has been booming in recent years. In 2023, airlines transported over 150 million passengers. Thus far, the threats have been targeted at a handful of Indian carriers including Air India, SpiceJet, and IndiGo.

However, they have also started to affect international carriers like American Airlines and Jet Blue. Regulators have been scratching their heads in the past few days to deal with the situation.

Kinjarapu Ram Mohan, the country’s minister of aviation, described the situation as a “matter of grave concern.”

Most of these threats have been received via email and social media platforms from anonymous parties, which has made the matter worse as authorities are struggling to identify the source of the menace.

Diverting Flights Cost Airlines Nearly $120,000 Per Incident

The industry is already facing severe financial and operational damages as each threat triggers a mandatory security protocol that causes disruptions to flight schedules and a cascade of costly actions.

Whenever an airline receives a threat, the plane involved must be diverted to the nearest airport. The excess fuel used in these situations may cost up to ₹10 million (around $120,000) per incident.

“If a flight has just taken off and there is a bomb threat, the flight can’t land because it is already on a full load of fuel,” commented one aviation expert. “So they will have to dump the fuel first in the air and then land.”

One incident in particular involving a flight from Air India reportedly cost the airline ₹30 million (about $356,000) in fuel costs, accommodations for passengers, crew replacements, etc.

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The operational impact extends beyond individual flights, as aviation expert Sidharath Kapur explains that each incident requires immediate landing, complete passenger evacuation, thorough security checks of baggage, cargo, and catering, and often requires crew replacements due to limitations on the number of hours that they can be on duty. The disruptions have been particularly severe for international flights.

Moreover, passengers become discontent with the situation and are unaware of the reason why their flight is being diverted, delayed, or otherwise canceled.

“The harassed passengers wait without a clue of what turn their travel plan might take. Besides being time consuming, the process is expensive and eats into the bottom line of the airline. In some cases, it might affect the sustainability of the airline,” commented Atanu Guru, an aviation expert.

Another incident involving an Air India Boeing 777 flying from Mumbai to Chicago was diverted to the remote Canadian city of Iqaluit. The 211 passengers endured tough climate conditions and an 18-hour delay before being transported to their destination by a Canadian Air Force plane.

Meanwhile, Singaporean military forces and the British air force have also dispatched fighter jets on multiple occasions to escort threatened flights while Afghanistan denied landing permission to a threatened Vistara flight bound for Frankfurt that forced the plane to return to India.

The Source or Goal of the Threats Are Still Unknown

Indian authorities have been unable to identify the people or group behind what seems to be an orchestrated campaign to hurt the industry. The most significant breakthrough in the case thus far was the arrest of a 17-year-old individual who allegedly threatened four flights. Nevertheless, we still don’t know the scale of the operation or the motive behind it.

Some of the IP addresses involved have been traced back to London and Germany, which complicates the matter even more as India has to go through official channels and seek the help of overseas law enforcement agencies to investigate and apprehend the suspects.

Airline CEOs have met with the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security along with other representatives from the sector to develop new security protocols and go through the sector’s best practices to deal with the situation.

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However, the crisis has exposed significant vulnerabilities in the country’s security infrastructure particularly when it comes to tracing threats made through social media platforms.

The Aviation Sector’s Stellar Growth is Under Siege

Aviation experts have suggested that these incidents may be part of a larger, coordinated effort to destabilize India’s aviation sector. Atanu Guru emphasized that the goal of these threats is clear: “maligning and defaming Indian brands, thereby trying to derail the India growth story.”

The crisis comes at a critical juncture for India’s aviation sector, which recently achieved a record-breaking daily passenger count of 484,263 on October 14.

passengers are getting scared about flying

The industry currently operates nearly 700 commercial passenger planes and maintains an order backlog of more than 1,700 aircraft. As a result, India has positioned itself as one of the fastest-growing commercial aircraft markets globally.

The recurring threats have created significant anxiety among passengers and some are even starting to question if they should switch to alternative means of transportation. Industry experts emphasize that while each threat must be treated seriously, the pattern of hoaxes should not deter people from flying.

Addressing the Crisis Requires International Cooperation

The aviation industry faces critical challenges to address this crisis. The lack of specific legal provisions concerning fake bomb threats has made it difficult for authorities to issue a comprehensive response as these incidents are currently treated under general criminal laws.

While standard operating procedures exist for handling threats, there are limited preventive measures in place. The government is exploring various solutions including enhancing international cooperation, expanding intelligence networks, and developing specific legal frameworks for aviation threats.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has emphasized that authorities must continue to treat every threat seriously as passenger safety is a priority. The success of these efforts will be crucial to keep fueling the sector’s growth and protecting national interests.

Industry experts suggest that resolving this crisis will require a coordinated international response as the sources of these threats could originate from anywhere in the world. The identification, tracking, and apprehension of offenders will largely depend on the degree of cooperation that other countries are willing to extend to India.