### Surge in Hoax Bomb Threats Creates Turmoil in India's Aviation Sector

The Indian airline industry has been hit by an extraordinary wave of hoax bomb threats, resulting in significant international travel disruptions. Over the past week, 90 such threats have been reported, leading to the grounding and diversion of numerous flights. This unprecedented barrage has primarily targeted prominent Indian airlines like Air India, Vistara, SpiceJet, and IndiGo, but international carriers like American Airlines, Jet Blue, and Air New Zealand have also been affected.

On just one Saturday, aviation authorities recorded 30 bomb threats. The following day, at least 20 more threats were directed against various airlines. Indian aviation regulators are compelled to treat each threat with the utmost seriousness, leading to emergency landings and rerouting to third countries such as Turkey and Germany. In one notable incident, Afghanistan denied a Vistara flight en route to Frankfurt permission to make an emergency landing, forcing it to return to India.

This surge has had a considerable impact on India's thriving aviation sector, where domestic flights alone transported 152 million passengers in 2023. Passengers have expressed increasing frustration over prolonged delays, and the airlines are battling substantial financial losses. One dramatic example involved an Air India Boeing 777 flying from Delhi to Chicago that was redirected to Iqaluit, a remote Canadian town. The 200 passengers on board were stranded for three days before finally continuing their journey to Chicago on a Canadian air force plane.

Fighter jets have even been deployed to escort threatened flights in Singapore and the UK. India's civil aviation minister, K Ram Mohan Naidu, has described the surge in fake bomb threats as a "matter of grave concern" and has promised that those responsible will be prosecuted. The scale of these threats is unprecedented; between 2014 and 2017, the total number of bomb threats received by Indian flights was about 120.

Efforts to identify and apprehend the culprits are ongoing. One minor has been arrested, and new rules stipulate that individuals involved in bomb hoaxes will be placed on a no-fly list. An aviation security official pointed out a pattern of threats escalating on social media or through phone calls. While the perpetrators' motives remain unknown, it is clear that the intent is to disrupt the aviation industry, sow panic, and keep authorities constantly vigilant.