Aviation regulator considers flying ban for hoax callers
What's the story
The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is planning to propose a stringent action against hoax callers, potentially including a five-year ban from flying on any airline.
This move comes in the wake of a series of bomb threat emails received by 41 airports on Tuesday across India, including Varanasi, Chennai, Patna, Coimbatore, and Jaipur.
The threats forced authorities to implement contingency measures and conduct extensive anti-sabotage checks that lasted several hours.
Hoax impact
Hoax threats disrupt airport operations nationwide
Each of the threatening emails, received at approximately 12:40pm, was later confirmed to be a hoax.
The threats coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi, where the city's airport also received a threat.
Sources revealed to news agency PTI that an online group "KNR" is suspected to be behind these hoax threat emails.
This group had reportedly sent similar emails to several schools in the Delhi-National Capital Region on May 1.
Suspected perpetrators
Online group 'KNR' suspected behind hoax threats
The emails sent to the airports carried an almost identical message: "Hello, there are explosives hidden in the Airport. The bombs will soon explode. You will all die."
At Chennai airport, a Dubai-bound flight carrying 286 passengers was delayed due to the hoax threat.
Before the threats on Tuesday, the Delhi airport got an email at 9.30am on Monday warning of a bomb threat on a Dubai-bound flight, but no suspicious items were found during inspections