NEW DELHI: Over 80 flights of Indian carriers received threats on Thursday, after a relatively calm Wednesday. Sources say these included 20 flights (till evening) of Air India , IndiGo and Vistara each, 14 of Akasa and five of SpiceJet and one more airline each. Peak Diwali travel is going to start from this weekend and disruptions could affect a large number of passengers.
IndiGo 6E 362 took off from Hyderabad at 11.09 am for Goa. Following “a security-related alert”, it returned to Hyderabad at 2.01 pm — three hours of wasted fuel burn along with other expenses and inconvenienced passengers. Other airlines did not say if any of their flights had to return to origin or divert due to the threats.
Most of the threats were issued from the same handle. Govt agencies have taken up the issue with social media companies to trace people behind the deluge of threats — over 300 now — in the last 10 days so that the perpetrators can be punished. Aircraft getting threats are taken to isolation bays for thorough checks before being released for the next flight they have to operate, leading to consequential delays that entire day.
Thursday was a day of double disruptions for airlines and passengers with severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ impacting flights on the East coast and the large number of threats leading to consequential delays of multiple flights. While this meant a large number of passengers reaching out to airlines to rebook or know their flight status, Air India and Vistara and contact centres faced technical glitches in the evening.
“One of the telecom providers for our contact centres is facing technical difficulties. Due to this, there may be challenges connecting with our contact centres. While the telecom provider resolves the issue at its end, may we request your understanding and patience,” AI said on X. Vistara also said its contact centres “are currently experiencing technical issues and customers may intermittently not be able to reach our executives.”
IndiGo, which got threats for 20 flights including Delhi-Istanbul (6E 11), Mumbai-Istanbul (6E 17), Jeddah-Mumbai (6E 58), Pune-Jodhpur (6E 133) and Kolkata-Pune (6E 135). “All customers were safely disembarked… safety and security of our customers and crew remains paramount…. We worked closely with the relevant authorities, and standard operating procedures were followed… sincerely regret any inconvenience,” IndiGo said.
“We confirm that a few of Vistara’s flights operating on Oct 24, 2024, received security threats on social media. We immediately alerted the relevant authorities and are following all security procedures as directed by them. At Vistara, the safety and security of our customers, crew, and aircraft are of utmost importance,” a Vistara spokesperson said. Air India said none of the flights that got threats Thursday were diverted.
IndiGo 6E 362 took off from Hyderabad at 11.09 am for Goa. Following “a security-related alert”, it returned to Hyderabad at 2.01 pm — three hours of wasted fuel burn along with other expenses and inconvenienced passengers. Other airlines did not say if any of their flights had to return to origin or divert due to the threats.
Most of the threats were issued from the same handle. Govt agencies have taken up the issue with social media companies to trace people behind the deluge of threats — over 300 now — in the last 10 days so that the perpetrators can be punished. Aircraft getting threats are taken to isolation bays for thorough checks before being released for the next flight they have to operate, leading to consequential delays that entire day.
Thursday was a day of double disruptions for airlines and passengers with severe cyclonic storm ‘Dana’ impacting flights on the East coast and the large number of threats leading to consequential delays of multiple flights. While this meant a large number of passengers reaching out to airlines to rebook or know their flight status, Air India and Vistara and contact centres faced technical glitches in the evening.
“One of the telecom providers for our contact centres is facing technical difficulties. Due to this, there may be challenges connecting with our contact centres. While the telecom provider resolves the issue at its end, may we request your understanding and patience,” AI said on X. Vistara also said its contact centres “are currently experiencing technical issues and customers may intermittently not be able to reach our executives.”
IndiGo, which got threats for 20 flights including Delhi-Istanbul (6E 11), Mumbai-Istanbul (6E 17), Jeddah-Mumbai (6E 58), Pune-Jodhpur (6E 133) and Kolkata-Pune (6E 135). “All customers were safely disembarked… safety and security of our customers and crew remains paramount…. We worked closely with the relevant authorities, and standard operating procedures were followed… sincerely regret any inconvenience,” IndiGo said.
“We confirm that a few of Vistara’s flights operating on Oct 24, 2024, received security threats on social media. We immediately alerted the relevant authorities and are following all security procedures as directed by them. At Vistara, the safety and security of our customers, crew, and aircraft are of utmost importance,” a Vistara spokesperson said. Air India said none of the flights that got threats Thursday were diverted.
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