New Bomb Threat: Vistara Delhi-London Diverts To Frankfurt (image-instagram/vistara)

After a series of threats to Indian airlines through social media this week, Vistara’s Delhi-London flight of October 18 was diverted to Frankfurt late Friday night. On Saturday morning, the airline spokesperson said that the flight landed safely at the Frankfurt airport, and mandatory checks are being conducted.

The flight will continue to its destination once cleared by the security agencies. “Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024 received a security threat on social media. In line with the protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed and as a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt,” the Vistara spokesperson said.

Read also: Hoax Bomb Threats To Flights: Teenage Boy In Custody

According to the officials, the flight had received a bomb threat. On the other hand, Akasa Air said its flight QP 1366 which was scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday had received a security alert shortly before departure.

“Hence as per safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deplaned as the local authorities followed necessary procedures. We request your understanding as our team on ground did everything possible to reduce inconvenience,” the airline said in a post on X.

The flight landed at the Frankfurt airport, where mandatory checks were being conducted. The spokesperson assured that the airline would continue to its destination once the security agencies cleared it.

The bomb threats received over the past few days had followed the same pattern, messages from unverified and anonymous accounts on social media platform X. However, all the threats were discovered to be fake upon police investigation. Nearly 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.

10 social media accounts that issued hoax bomb threats to multiple airlines this week have been suspended or blocked by cyber security agencies till now.

Read also: Security Alert: Bengaluru-Bound Akasa Flight Returns To Delhi

The Civil Aviation Ministry has planned to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing perpetrators in the no-fly list.