How fake bombers are giving Indian airlines a bad name

The dramatic and unprecedented increase in fake bomb threats against Indian airlines is wreaking havoc on air systems, diverting flights and causing widespread disruption.

A video posted on social media last week shows passengers, dressed in wool, walking down the stairs of an Air India flight in the cold air in Iqaluit, a remote city in Canada.

The 211 passengers of the Boeing 777, which was flying from Mumbai to Chicago, were diverted early on October 15 due to a bomb threat.

“We have been stuck at the airport since five in the morning with 200 passengers… We don’t know what happened or what to do next… We are exhausted,” wrote Harit Sachdeva, a passenger, on social media. He praised the “kind airport staff” and said Air India it wasn’t doing enough to inform passengers.

Mr Sachdeva’s post captured the frustration and anxiety of passengers who were diverted to an unknown, remote location. A few hours later, a Canadian Air Force plane ended their ordeal by carrying the stranded passengers to Chicago. Air India confirmed that the flight was diverted to Iqaluit due to a “cyber security threat”.

The threat was false, reflecting a number of similar lies that have targeted Indian airlines so far this year. Only last weekthere have been at least 90 threats, causing disruptions, cancellations and delays. In June, 41 airports have received hoax bomb threats by email in one day, which means improved security.

In context, between 2014 and 2017, authorities recorded 120 bomb notifications of airports, almost half are directed to Delhi and Mumbai, the largest airports in the country. This underscores the repeated emergence of such threats in recent years, but this year’s increase has been alarming. (It is difficult to know how India compares with other countries as data is not readily available.)

“I am deeply concerned about the recent acts of disruption against Indian airlines, affecting domestic and international operations. Such malicious and illegal acts are a matter of grave concern. I condemn attempts to jeopardize the safety, security and integrity of the operation of our aviation sector,” said the federal aviation minister, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu.

So what happened?

Hoax bomb threats against airlines are often associated with malicious intent, attention-seeking, mental health issues, disruption of business operations or a prank, experts say. In 2018, a a burst of jokes about bombs by airline passengers in Indonesia led to flight disruptions. Even the pamphlets proved to be criminals: last year, a a frustrated passenger tried to delay a SpiceJet flight for calling in a hoax warning after he lost his check-in at an airport in India’s Bihar.

These lies ended up wreaking havoc on one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets. More than 150 million passengers flew domestically in India last year, according to the civil aviation ministry. More than 3,000 flights arrive and depart the country every day from more than 150 active airports, including 33 international airports.

Last week’s hoax has been ramped up as Indian airlines carry it 484,263 passengers on October 14, a one-day national record. India has less than 700 passenger planes in operation, and an order backlog of more than 1,700 planes, according to Cirium’s Rob Morris, an expert. “All of this will give India the fastest growing aviation market today,” Mr Morris said.

Consider the effects of a bomb threat warning on an airline.

If the plane is in the air, it has to divert to the nearest airport – like the Air India flight that diverted to Canada last week or the Vistara flight to Frankfurt from Mumbai transferred to Turkey in September. Others involve fighter jets that must be hijacked to escort planes reporting threats such as what is happening with A Heathrow-bound Air India flight passes through Norfolk and a Air India Express bound for Singapore last week.

Once on the ground, the passengers disembark, and all luggage and supplies and food are searched. This process can take several hours, and often the same crew cannot continue flying due to work hour restrictions. Because of this, a replacement team has to be organized, which further increases the delay.

“All of this has significant cost and network implications. Every diverted or delayed flight incurs huge costs, as a grounded flight becomes a loss-making asset. Delays lead to cancellations, and schedules are thrown out.” said Sidharath Kapur, an independent aviation expert.

A dramatic increase in bomb threats on social media from anonymous accounts has complicated efforts to identify the perpetrators. Motives remain unclear, as do threats from individuals, groups, or copycat actions.

Last week, Indian authorities arrested a 17-year-old school dropout for creating a social media account to issue these threats. His motives remain unclear, but he is believed to have hijacked four flights – three international – resulting in two delays, one diversion and one cancellation. Investigators suspect that some of the posts may have originated in London and Germany after tracking IP addresses.

Obviously, tracking fraudsters poses a major challenge. Although Indian law allows for life imprisonment for threatening airport security or disrupting service, this punishment is too severe for fraudulent calls and cannot stand up to formal scrutiny. Reports they suggest that the government is considering putting offenders on the no-fly list and introducing new laws that could carry a five-year prison sentence.

Ultimately, such false threats can cause serious anxiety to passengers. “My aunt called asking if she should take the flight she booked because of these threats. ‘Should I take the train?’ he asked. I told him, ‘Please continue flying’,” said the flight attendant, who chose not to be named. Threats continue to disrupt lives and sow fear.

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