‘12 bombers on IndiGo flights…’: Fresh message posted on X amid hoax bomb threats to flights

25 flights operated by leading Indian carriers received bomb threats on Sunday — the latest in a series of disruptions that have plagued airlines in recent days. The threat message was sent to Indigo airlines through an anonymous account on X and claimed there were 12 bombers travelling on multiple flights.

“We are taking all necessary precautions in collaboration with relevant authorities,” the airline had assured in a statement following the threats.

An IndiGo spokesperson also said the airline was cognisant of the situation involving flight 6E 58 (Jeddah to Mumbai), 6E87 (Kozhikode to Dammam), 6E11 (Delhi to Istanbul), 6E17 (Mumbai to Istanbul), 6E133 (Pune to Jodhpur) and 6E112 operating (Goa to Ahmedabad). Passengers of these flights disembarked safely.

The threat message claimed that there were 12 bombers spread across six IndiGo flights — two on board each plane. According to later reports, the social media handle on X was blocked on Sunday after issuing the threats. 

Nearly a 100 flights have been disrupted this week amid a barrage of threat messages sent to various Indian airlines — citing both domestic and international flights. The situation has sent security agencies into a tizzy and continues to cause hardships to hundreds of passengers. It has also forced authorities to move scores of planes to isolation bays at airports concerned for detailed checks.

Six flights each of IndiGo, Vistara, Air India and Akasa Air, and at least one flight of Air India Express received the threats on Sunday. This comes the back of similar threat messages sent to more than 30 flights of various Indian carriers on Saturday.

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security held a meeting with representatives of airlines on Saturday to discuss the situation. The civil aviation ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators in the no-fly list.

(With inputs from agencies)