Mon Oct 21 12:03:59 UTC 2024: **Summary of Article on Bomb Threats in Indian Aviation:**
1. **Incident Overview**: Over the past week, numerous bomb threats targeting flights in India caused significant disruption to airline operations, despite all threats being later confirmed as hoaxes.
2. **Concerns Raised**: The incidents highlighted major concerns about aviation safety protocols in the country.
3. **Response Protocols**: Airlines activated anti-terrorism protocols in response to the threats and coordinated with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for assistance and investigation.
4. **Assessment by MoCA**: An official from MoCA noted that while most threats (99.99%) are hoaxes, the remaining 0.01% are taken very seriously, even with rigorous pre-departure security checks already in place.
5. **Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC)**: When a bomb threat is received, an alert is triggered, and a meeting of BTAC is convened to assess the legitimacy of the threat. Action depends on this assessment, with procedures for both in-air and pre-departure situations.
6. **Actions Based on Threat Legitimacy**:
– If a flight is airborne, the pilots may be directed to return, continue, or divert based on guidance from Air Traffic Control.
– For flights not yet departed, the aircraft is moved to a remote area for thorough checks.
– For international flights over Indian airspace, coordination with international authorities is required to decide next steps.
7. **Government Action**: The Indian government and MoCA are diligently investigating the source of these hoaxes. Joint Secretary Asangba Chuba Ao confirmed that the aviation regulator is taking the matter seriously and is seeking effective solutions to address the issue.
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