The Kashmir Dialogues
New Delhi, June 18: On Tuesday, a total of forty-one airports across India, including major ones such as Chennai, Patna, and Jaipur, received bomb threat emails, triggering widespread security responses and temporary disruptions to airport operations. The threats, received around 12:40 pm from an email address identified as [email protected], claimed explosives were planted at the airports and imminent explosions would occur.
Security agencies immediately swung into action, implementing contingency plans and initiating anti-sabotage checks as per the recommendations of Bomb Threat Assessment Committees at each airport. Despite the alarming nature of the emails, subsequent searches at all affected airports yielded no evidence of explosives or any credible threat.
The airports affected by the hoax threats included Chennai, Patna, Nagpur, Jaipur, Vadodara, Coimbatore, and Jabalpur among others. Each airport undertook thorough inspections of terminals, runways, and surrounding areas, accompanied by heightened security measures involving local police and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel.
At Chennai airport, a Dubai-bound flight carrying 286 passengers was delayed due to the threat, prompting security agencies to conduct a detailed search of the aircraft. Similarly, Jaipur International Airport also experienced disruptions as authorities conducted extensive inspections following the receipt of the bomb threat email.
The origin of these hoax emails is suspected to be linked to an online group identified as “KNR”, which had previously sent similar threats to schools in the Delhi-National Capital Region on May 1st. Indian cybersecurity agencies are actively investigating the source of these emails, which are believed to have been sent from abroad.
Officials reiterated that despite the disruptions caused by the hoax threats, passenger movements were kept as unhindered as possible, and normal operations resumed once all security checks were completed.
This incident underscores ongoing challenges in cybersecurity and the need for robust protocols to handle such threats, especially in critical infrastructure sectors like aviation.
In related incidents, similar hoax bomb threat emails were reported at several airports in April, indicating a recurring challenge that authorities are striving to address through enhanced cybersecurity measures and international cooperation.
Sheikh Sameer
