Bhubaneswar: A high alert was sounded at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar after a call was received about bomb in Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru Akasa Air flight.
However, no bomb was found after the aircraft was thoroughly searched. “We received a bomb threat call. It was declared a hoax after security checks at the airport. Such threat calls are dealt in accordance with Bomb Threat Contingency Plan (BTCP). Accordingly, Bomb Threat Assessment Committee was convened and all procedures were followed,” Bhubaneswar airport director Prasanna Pradhan told a local channel.
While security checks were intensified, bomb defusing and dog squad were also pressed into service at the airport.
Elite anti-terrorist force have been deployed at Bhubaneswar airport after the hoax call, sources said.
Earlier in the day, 74 flights of various Indian airlines, including 20 each of Air India, Vistara, and IndiGo and 14 of Akasa Air received non-specific bomb threats, creating a scare at Goa International Airport, Dabolim, and Manohar International Airport, Mopa. The threats originated on X (formerly Twitter), where a user going by the name @AdamLanza222 claimed to have put a bomb on several aircraft, the TOI reported.
An Akasa Air spokesperson confirmed that some of its flights operating on October 24 have received security alerts. “The Akasa Air Emergency Response teams are monitoring the situation and are in touch with the security and regulatory authorities. We are following all safety and security procedures in coordination with local authorities,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Indian airlines have been hit by a spate of bomb hoaxes over the past 11 days with nearly 250 confirmed cases with threats mostly from anonymous and unverified social media accounts.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu had earlier informed about the government plans to take legislative actions to deal with instances of bomb threats to airlines while making punishments harsher, including putting perpetrators in the no-fly list, to deter them from posting such threats.