A wave of hoax bomb threats has led to considerable travel disruptions for passengers on major airlines in India in recent days.


According to Indian media reports on Monday, there have been 100 threats made against flights over the past week. While these threats were hoaxes, they forced airlines to divert and delay flights and implement costly security measures.


"Even though these threats are hoaxes, we cannot take the situation lightly," Indian Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu told reporters on Monday. He stated that despite most threats being false, airlines and authorities must adhere to strict security protocols whenever a threat is reported.


Naidu mentioned that eight flights were diverted in the past week. He added that authorities have increased security at airports and are using closed-circuit cameras for closer monitoring.


In one instance, an Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago on October 15 was compelled to land at Iqaluit Airport in northeastern Canada, where both the plane and its passengers underwent security screening. The 211 passengers were left stranded because the airport lacked the resources for the required explosives detection. It wasn't until 18 hours later that the Canadian Air Force transported them to Chicago.


On Thursday, a flight from Mumbai to London operated by Air India was intercepted by the U.K.'s Royal Air Force following a bomb threat. According to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24, the plane flew in a holding pattern for 30 minutes before it was cleared to land.


On Friday, a Vistara flight from Delhi to London was diverted to Frankfurt, according to the airline. Then, on Sunday, another Vistara flight from Delhi to Frankfurt had to turn around and return to Delhi. Both incidents were attributed to bomb threats, as reported by Indian media.


"Strict action will be taken against those making hoax threats, as safety is our top priority. Those who compromise security will face serious consequences," Naidu stated in a press release.


The civil aviation minister informed reporters that his office is pushing for changes to regulations and laws to impose harsher penalties for making bomb threats.


"Once we identify the perpetrator behind this, we intend to place them on the no-fly list," he stated.


Numerous bomb threats are being made by anonymous accounts on X.