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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
/
Hoax bomb threats to Indian airlines force emergency landing in Canada
and fighter jets to scramble in Singapore
By Helen Regan, Lex Harvey, Manveena Suri and Esha Mitra, CNN
Updated:
2:38 AM EDT, Wed October 16, 2024
Source: CNN
Twin bomb threats hit Indian airliners on opposite sides of the globe
on Tuesday, forcing an emergency landing in the Arctic and fighter jets
to scramble in Asia – the latest in a series of similar hoax scares
for the country’s airlines.
Indian airlines have faced “a number of threats in recent days,”
all of which have been found to be hoaxes, flag carrier Air India said
in a statement Tuesday, as authorities in New Delhi and around the
world investigate the string of false bomb warnings.
On Tuesday, an Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago made an
emergency landing in Iqaluit, Canada’s northernmost city. All 211
passengers and crew were relocated to the airport, Canadian police
said.
Air India flight 127 was the “subject of a security threat posted
online” and diverted “as a precautionary measure,” the airline
said. On Wednesday, Air India said a Canadian Air Force aircraft was
transferring the passengers to Chicago.
In a separate incident Tuesday, Singapore scrambled two Air Force F-15
fighter jets to escort an Air India Express passenger plane away from
populated areas before landing at the city state’s Changi Airport,
the Singaporean defense minister said on social platform X.
Flight AXB684 was enroute to Singapore from the southern Indian city of
Madurai when the airline received an email that there was a bomb
onboard, minister Ng Eng Hen said.
The threat prompted Singapore to activate its ground-based air defense
systems and explosive ordnance disposal, and the plane was handed to
airport police upon arrival, Ng said, adding that investigations are
ongoing.
Multiple flights by Indian carriers have been delayed or diverted due
to false bomb threats since Monday. They include domestic flights on
low-cost airlines as well as international flights. The threats have
appeared to come from emails or social media posts.
The affected trips include an Air India flight from Mumbai to New York
that was diverted to Delhi on Monday because of a hoax bomb alert, a
spokesperson for the carrier told CNN. And two flights operated by
IndiGo from Mumbai to Oman and Saudi Arabia faced long delays due to
bomb threats, the budget airline said.
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet also said it received a bomb threat to a
flight to Mumbai from the northern city of Darbhanga on Tuesday.
“The aircraft landed safely at Mumbai Airport and was directed to an
isolation bay as a precautionary measure,” SpiceJet said in a
statement, adding that after security checks the flight was cleared for
further operations.
Though it remains unclear whether the threats are connected, or what
the motive may be, Air India said they could not be dismissed.
“As a responsible airline operator all threats are taken
seriously,” the airline said, adding it was working with authorities
to ensure the perpetrators are “held accountable for the disruption
and inconvenience caused to passengers.”
India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) is reportedly meeting
Wednesday to discuss the situation, according to CNN affiliate News 18.
CNN has reached out to MOCA, India’s Bureau of Civil Aviation
Security and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for comment.
The Air India emergency landing in Canada comes as tensions rise
between the two countries after , including the high commissioner, on
Monday.
Canada has accused agents of the Indian government of being linked to
homicides, harassment and other “acts of violence” against Sikh
separatists in the country. India called the accusations
“preposterous” and in turn expelled six Canadian diplomats.
While there is no indication that the bomb hoaxes are linked to the
diplomatic spat, threats to Air India flights in Canada have revived
painful memories of the 1985 bombing of Air India flight 182 by Sikh
extremists, the worst terrorist attack in Canada’s history. The
flight from Montreal to New Delhi exploded off the coast of Ireland,
killing all 329 people on board, including more than 250 Canadians.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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