India flight from Frankfurt hit with latest fake threat

BENGALURU, India: The latest in a string of hoax threats made against Indian airlines targeted a flight from Germany, the airline said Thursday, with the plane landing safely in Mumbai.

More than a dozen fake bomb threats have been made against flights operated by multiple Indian air services this week, prompting government and civil aviation authorities to warn that “very strict action” will be taken.

India’s Vistara airline said Thursday that its passenger jet flying from Frankfurt to Mumbai the day before had received a “security threat” on social media, but landed safely at its planned destination.

“We are fully cooperating with the security agencies to complete the mandatory security checks”, Vistara said in a statement.

India’s aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said late Wednesday that the police had arrested “a minor responsible for issuing bomb threats” against three flights.

“All others responsible for the disruptions will be identified and duly prosecuted,” Naidu added.

Flights impacted include an Air India plane from New Delhi to Chicago, forced to make an emergency landing in Canada on Tuesday.

On the same day, Singapore scrambled fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane.