Nearly 80 domestic and foreign flights received bomb threats within 24 hours, which later turned out not to be true. This left thousands of passengers and agencies on edge. Two former airline officials estimate that the airlines will suffer losses of around INR600 crore due to these disruptions.
Bomb threats were made against 50 flights on Tuesday, including 13 IndiGo and Air India flights. Sources in the know say that Akasa Air received threats for more than 12 flights, and 11 flights of Vistara. Around 30 flights from IndiGo, Air India, and Vistara received bomb threats on Monday evening, they said.
In nine days more than 170 flights operated in India have received bomb threat, mostly via social media. This has also forced some international flights to be diverted. A disruption of a domestic flight costs around INR 1,5 crore on average. For an international flight the cost is around INR 5-5.5 lakh, according to an official who worked for the finance department of an airline.
A calculation on the back of a piece of paper shows that the average disruption cost for domestic and international flights is around INR 3.5 lakh. For more than 170 flight, the total expense or loss for the airline would be about INR 600 cr. The figures are a broad estimate, as many other factors such as the type of plane (narrow-body or wide-body) and duration of flight need to be considered.
Another official who worked in the finance department for another domestic airline said that the operational costs of wide-body aircraft are higher than those of narrow-body aircraft. Officials added that there are indirect costs, such as impact on flight networks due to disruptions. These include fuel and parking charges at airports.
IndiGo spokespersons said that 13 flights received security alerts on Tuesday. The flights are 6E 196 from Bengaluru to Lucknow, 6E 433, 6E 455, 6E 17 from Mumbai to Istanbul, 6E 394, 6E 318, 6E 309 (Kolkata-Ahmedabad), and 6E 297 from Hyderabad to Jodhpur.
All passengers disembarked safely from all flights at the destination airports. Akasa’s spokesperson confirmed that some of the flights it operated on Tuesday had received security alerts. The airline, in coordination with local authorities, is following all safety procedures and security protocols. The airline didn’t mention how many flights received the alerts.
The report focused on the outlook for global aviation noted that the long term global growth outlook — over the next 20 years — was generally reduced to 3-4 percent annually, instead of 5-6 percentage points. Europe had the lowest growth rate.
Vistara has confirmed that on social media, a few of their flights operating on the Tuesday received security threats. The spokesperson said that they had alerted all relevant authorities and were following their security procedures.
Air India’s spokesperson confirmed that on Tuesday, some of the flights it operated were subject to threats received via social media.
The spokesperson said that:
“Following protocols laid down, the relevant authorities were immediately notified, and all security measures were strictly adhered as per guidance provided by the regulatory authorities, security agencies, and other security agencies.”
Official sources revealed on Tuesday that the protocols for the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee, which is convened when a bomb threat is made against an aircraft or airport, were tweaked so as to better combat the “random” Internet threats that are being made against various Indian airlines.
Also, the government plans to take legislative action in response to bomb threats made against airlines. This includes placing the perpetrators of the threats on a no fly list.
The Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act of 1982 (SUASCA) is being amended so that the perpetrators can be arrested and an investigation can be launched without a judicial order for offences committed while an aircraft is on ground.
In addition, the rules for aircraft security are being revised to ensure that perpetrators who threaten flights with bombs will face harsh punishment.
