The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) announced on Monday that it is considering implementing a five-year ban on flying for individuals who are found guilty of making hoax bomb threat calls to airlines or airport operators. Recently, six individuals have been arrested following a significant rise in such hoax calls, which have created challenging situations for passengers and airline staff and have led to unnecessary and extensive efforts by security officials.
The aviation security watchdog’s proposal comes as airlines and security officials face a surge in hoax bomb threat calls. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) plans to propose a new measure to the civil aviation ministry, aiming to combat the growing problem of these threats. Currently, there is a provision for a temporary ban of three to six months, but this is limited to the individual airline involved. The proposed ban would extend to all airlines for a period of five years.
Sources informed that a detailed investigation into the hoax calls and threats is still ongoing.
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Miscreants issuing hoax threats typically use three methods: sending an email, making a hoax call, or leaving a threat note in airport or flight lavatories. While the first two methods can be technically investigated, the last one is more challenging to detect. When threat notes are found in aircraft lavatories, security agencies have started matching the handwriting of passengers to identify the culprits.
Hoax threat issuers have caused significant tensions for both passengers and airlines. For example, a Mumbai-bound IndiGo flight from Chennai received a bomb threat message on Tuesday but landed safely without incident. Earlier that day, airports in Varanasi, Chennai, Patna, and Jaipur received bomb threat emails, leading authorities to implement contingency measures and conduct hours-long anti-sabotage checks. Each threat was ultimately found to be a hoax, according to official sources.
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