Bengaluru/ Belagavi, 20 Oct

Bengaluru Airport Command Centre was on high alert on Sunday after receiving a bomb threat via an anonymous account on X. The message claimed that 12 bombers were spread across six IndiGo flights, specifically IX233, IX375, IX481, IX383, IX549 and IX399.

Authorities initiated a thorough investigation and implemented heightened security measures throughout the airport. Despite being notified, IndiGo has not filed a formal complaint. However, the airline confirmed that it is cooperating with authorities and is taking the threats seriously.

IndiGo's statement highlighted that the safety and security of its passengers and crew are their highest priorities. The flights from Kozhikode, Delhi, Goa, Pune, Jeddah, and Mumbai were affected.  The aircraft were either moved to isolation bays and passengers safely disembarked.

The alarming day was not an isolated incident as over 20 Indian airline flights received similar bomb threats. This follows an incident on Saturday, when an Alliance Air flight from Kochi to Bengaluru was diverted due to a bomb threat received via Twitter.

Notably, Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru dealt with hoax bomb threats in the past, including two incidents reported in May and August of this year.

Bomb threat received by Belagavi airport is 'hoax': Police

Police said that the bomb threat email received by the Belagavi airport at Sambra here on Sunday was a "hoax". According to official sources, airport Director S Thiagarajan received an email indicating a bomb threat. "A hoax mail was received regarding a threat to Belagavi airport. A case has been registered in this regard in Marial Police Station," Belagavi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Rohan Jagadeesh said. He said, "The whole airport both inside and out has been checked. Nothing has been found. The email is a hoax. Investigation to ascertain the sender is underway." Following the email, additional police personnels, dog and bomb squads were deployed at the airport, who conducted through checks, official sources said. -Salar News/ PTI