October 22, 2024: In a concerning surge of security threats, at least 79 flights, primarily on international routes, received bomb threats between Monday night and Tuesday morning. The majority of the incidents affected major airlines, with IndiGo bearing the brunt, reporting 23 threatened flights. Other airlines involved included Vistara with 21 flights, Akasa with 12, and Air India with another 23. This escalation has brought the total number of hoax threats received this week to around 169.

The targeted flights included routes to significant destinations such as Jeddah, Istanbul, and Riyadh. Notably, IndiGo flight 6E 164 from Mangaluru to Mumbai was placed on high alert, leading to the safe disembarkation of passengers and comprehensive security checks. In another instance, IndiGo flight 6E 75 from Ahmedabad to Jeddah was escorted to an isolation bay upon landing, where passengers were evacuated in accordance with safety protocols.

Other IndiGo flights facing similar threats included those from Lucknow to Pune, Hyderabad to Jeddah, and Istanbul to Mumbai, among others. Some flights were even diverted to alternative locations, such as flight 6E 77 from Bengaluru to Jeddah, which was rerouted to Doha.

These unsettling developments occurred shortly after Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu announced plans to classify making hoax bomb threats to airlines as a cognizable offense, signaling a firm governmental response to the rising threat.