NEW DELHI: Indian security establishment have finally decided to take the menace of hoax bomb threats that cause expensive diversions head on. An Air India Express Dammam-Delhi nonstop was forced to divert to Ahmedabad after a tissue paper with the words “bomb red 430” written on it and a box, both in black ink, drawn on it was found in the lav. After landing in Ahmedabad and following the required protocol, the security authorities additionally decided to conduct a handwriting test on all the 32 passengers and see if the expensive prank was played by one of them.“They asked the airline to give the same tissue paper and then organised the same colour pen. Six tissues were sought for each passenger. Now let us see if they find a match,” said sources. It is not yet known if this test managed to nab the person who allegedly wrote this threat note.The standard protocol for such situations is taking the aircraft to a remote parking bay; checking all passengers and cabin and check-in baggage thoroughly before clearing it to take off again. All this was followed on Monday too at Ahmedabad. The handwriting test was conducted on top of that.An Air India Express spokesperson said: “One of our flights from Dammam to Delhi was diverted to Ahmedabad as a precaution and in keeping with security protocols after being notified of a specific bomb threat. The government-appointed bomb threat assessment committee (BTAC) was alerted immediately, and all security procedures promptly initiated. The flight landed and all guests have been disembarked safely. The aircraft will be released for operations after necessary security checks are completed.”
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Indian carriers have suffered huge losses due to hoax threats in recent years. While tracking a call making such a claim is difficult due to advancement in technology, tackling on board threatening notes if written by someone onboard the affected flight could help tackle this menace. Monday’s handwriting test decision, say sources, was taken by BCAS and CISF. “Why the same has not been done in the past beats us,” said a senior pilot.Airlines and airports in India had received 999 hoax bomb threats between Jan 1 and Nov 14, 2024 — more than 10 times the number in 2023. The threats to both domestic and international flights were made mostly through social media and had disrupted air travel in India.
