IndiGo, Vistara, Akasa flights get bomb threats, airlines say 'taking all necessary precautions'

Notably, several flights have received threats that turned out to be hoax in the last few days

Budget carrier IndiGo on Sunday said that six of its flights have received bomb threats. According to a statement issued by the airline, it said  that the safety and security of the passengers and crew is its highest priority and that the airline is working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines."

Meanwhile, more than 20 flights of Indian airlines received bomb threats on Sunday, according to sources, news agency PTI said. Six flights each of IndiGo, Vistara and Air India received the threats.

Vistara said it got security threats for six flights -- UK25 (Delhi to Frankfurt), UK106 (Singapore to Mumbai), UK146 (Bali to Delhi), UK116 (Singapore to Delhi), UK110 (Singapore to Pune) and UK107 (Mumbai to Singapore).

"In line with the protocols, all relevant authorities were immediately notified, and security procedures, as directed by them, are being carried out," a Vistara spokesperson said in a statement.

An Akasa Air spokesperson said some of its flights received security alerts on Sunday. Emergency response teams are monitoring the situation and are in touch with the security and regulatory authorities, the spokesperson said in a statement.

"We are following all safety and security procedures in coordination with local authorities," the spokesperson added. While the sources said that there were threats for at least six Air India flights, there was no immediate comment from the airline. So far this week, more than 90 flights have received bomb threats and most of them have turned out to be hoaxes.

On Saturday, Vistara said five of its flights on international routes received security threats through social media while IndiGo said at least four of its flights got security-related alerts. The five flights of Vistara are UK106 (Singapore to Mumbai), UK027 (Mumbai to Frankfurt), UK107 (Mumbai to Singapore), UK121 (Delhi to Bangkok) and UK131 (Mumbai to Colombo).

In the past few days, more than 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.

The Civil Aviation Ministry plans to put in place strict norms to prevent incidents of hoax bomb threats to airlines, including placing the perpetrators in the no-fly list.

"We are cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 112 operating from Goa to Ahmedabad. The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and we are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines."

"We are cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 133 operating from Pune to Jodhpur. The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and we are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines."

IndiGo issues press statement- "We are cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 17 operating from Mumbai to Istanbul. The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and we are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines."

"We are cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 11 operating from Delhi to Istanbul. The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and we are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines."

"We are cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 87 operating from Kozhikode to Dammam. The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and we are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines."

"We are cognisant of a situation involving flight 6E 58 operating from Jeddah to Mumbai. The safety and security of our passengers and crew is our highest priority and we are working closely with the relevant authorities and taking all necessary precautions as per the guidelines."