Navigating The Storm: Understanding Bomb Threat Protocols And The Impact Of Hoaxes In Aviation

SYNOPSIS:

The article discusses the significant threat of bomb scares in the aviation industry, emphasizing the need for immediate response. It details protocols followed by airlines and airport authorities, including initial assessments, BTAC involvement, communication with ATC, emergency landing procedures, and security scans. The article also discusses legal consequences for individuals making false bomb threats, including imprisonment, fines, and criminal records. The article highlights the operational, financial, and psychological consequences of bomb hoaxes, with airlines facing significant costs and passengers experiencing increased stress. The article concludes by emphasizing the need for effective protocols and public awareness.

INTRODUTION:

Nothing matters more to flying than security. A bomb threat, real or a hoax, can prove to be one of the biggest threats airlines and airport authorities have to deal with. Checks for this kind of threat are complex and involve numerous entities: government departments, security personnel, and the airlines' staff members. It gives facts on what checks airports go through when there is a bomb threat, what happens in case of a hoax call, and some of the recent incidents involving different airlines.

UNDERSTANDING BOMB THREATS:

Most bomb threats arrive in the forms of anonymous calls, emails, or social media posts. Most of them are fakes, but the possibility of having a legitimate threat makes a serious response imperative. The aviation industry believes that it cannot take any threat lightly because it cannot afford to assume it is a hoax.

PROTOCOLS FOR HANDLING BOMB THREATS:

A bomb threat requires passengers and crew to follow a cycle of protocols leading up to safety. Protocols can be divided into several important steps:
1.    Initial Assessment:
The airline or airport evaluates the situation immediately once receiving a bomb threat. Gathering information about the nature of the threat, its source, and specific details would be very helpful. Questions regarding credibility will be asked, including:

• Details on the threat
• Time of the bomb threat
• Means of communication (be it by telephone or social media).

2.    Activation of the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC):
Each airport has a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC). The BTAC consists of:

• Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
• Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS)
• The concerned airline
• Operators of the Airport

The BTAC meets to decide as per the preliminary assessment.
3.    Communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC):
In case of a bomb threat when the aircraft is already in the air, ATC should be notified immediately. They should then relay instructions to the flight crew, including possible diversion or other emergency landings.
4.    Emergency Landing Procedures:
The aircraft may be directed to divert to the nearest appropriate airport in the discretion of the decision-making officer. Emergency services are already alerted at this airport, and the passengers are evacuated upon landing.
5.    Detailed Security Scan:
Once on the ground, both aircraft and passenger baggage are strictly searched:

• Sniffer dogs
• Scan machines
• Hand searches by security personnel

Bomb disposal units are summoned for any items detected as suspicious.
6.    Passenger Handling:
Passengers are usually taken into a secure room until that the security agencies have cleared them. This is usually very time-consuming and results in substantial delays
7.    After-Incident Analysis:
After this has been resolved, the airlines carry out a review on their response and identify areas of improvement.

• Indian Penal Code (IPC):

1.    Section 505: This section deals with the statements that lead to public mischief making. A person who makes a false bomb alert with an intention to cause fear or panic also offended under this section and may be jailed for a period not exceeding three years or fined or both.
2.    Section 507: Where the threat is made anonymously, it comes under criminal intimidation through anonymous communication, which attracts imprisonment of up to two years.

• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA):

If the bomb threat is sufficiently threatening to call it an act of terrorism, then it is going to fall under the UAPA and attract much heavier penalties, including life imprisonment and large fines.

• Disaster Management Act:

This act may also applicable in some circumstances like, where the threat hinders operation of public utilities or law and order.

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF MAKING A FAKE BOMB THREAT:

• Imprisonment: Consequently, offenders are likely to undergo appalling sentences of imprisonment depending on the nature of the threat as well as the intensity of the threat.
• Fines: After serving time in prison, offenders may be made to pay a lot of money to the government to offset costs of having to apprehend and contain threat.
• Criminal Record: Conviction for forgery of a bomb threat attracts lifetime criminal record which in future affects employment and reputation.

CONSEQUENCES OF FAKE BOMB THREATS:

The effects of bomb hoax threats go beyond short-term operational inconveniences:

1.    Operational Disruptions:
Bomb hoax threats can, in recent times be seen to bring an entire hangar to a standstill and cancels numerous flights:
In October 2024 alone, more than 90 flights were affected by bomb hoaxes in India, thereby disallowing the schedules of IndiGo, Vistara, Air India, and Akasa Air from being honored.
2.    Airline Financial Impacts of Bomb Threats:
The direct costs to airlines incurred by bomb threats include:

• Emergency landing fees.
• Fuel cost due to diversion
• Penalty for late arriving passengers
• Strengthened security measures lead to higher cost to operate

In this context, a flight of Air India was diverted after getting a bomb scare suffered heavy fuel costs and the cost to accommodate the passengers.
3.    Increased Passenger Stress:
Bomb scares day after day create an element of fear and doubt in the minds of the traveling people:

• The passengers may feel unsafe or uncomfortable while traveling by flight.
• The mental pressure might dissuade people from traveling.

4.    Straining Security Resources:
The relentless influx of hoax threats exerts extreme pressure on security forces. It is a strain on the resources if security personnel have to attend multiple incidents. Heightened vigilance requirements can result in a strain for security personnel, and they may feel fatigued.

RECENT INCIDENTS INVOLVING FAKE BOMB THREATS:

Hoax bomb threats have gone up alarmingly in the aviation sector of late:

1. October 2024 Wave: 
   For nearly a week in mid-October, close to 100 bomb threats on Indian airlines flooded the airwaves. More than 90 flights were received as threats in less than a week, and approximately 50 came on a single weekend. Indian airlines were the primary targets, but even international flight operators were not immune. Most of the false alarms originated from social media.
2. Incidents:
   At least 24 flights were threatened with bombs on October 20th by an anonymous social media account. A Vistara Delhi-Frankfurt flight was compelled to turn back barely after take-off due to the threat. Multiple flights of IndiGo and Akasa Air similarly went through the ordeal during that period.
3. Government Response: 
   The incidents have prompted Indian authorities to start thinking in terms of stricter regulations and punishments for such false alarmists. The Indian government, on October 22, 2024, announced it was taking tough actions against the people blamed for spate of bomb hoax calls that have forced nearly 100 flights to be grounded in the last few days. The bomb hoax calls have resulted in heavy financial losses for airlines and caused untold delay for travellers who have had to enjoy their tours inside fighter jets providing escort to the endangered airlines.
   The Ongoing threats have been the reason for a severe disruption in the flight operations, which leads to the cancellations and diversions that make it a strain on the airline's schedule and resources. Experts warn that such hoaxes could actually have reverberating effects on airline logistics and passenger safety.

CONCLUSION:

Bomb threats to airports and airlines across the globe are pressing concerns. While most of the threats appear to be hoaxes, their impact is mighty, considering operations, financial losses, and further setbacks to the passenger's confidence in air travel. Effective protocols must be in place regarding these issues so that they can be dealt with effectively and promptly while critically answering the problems that force people to such threats.
Once the responses have been managed, another issue lingers in averting it from happening again through lawmaking and public awareness campaigns that emphasize the gravity of false bomb threats.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

1.    What protocols are followed when a bomb threat is received at an airport?
A bomb threat will invoke a response mechanism in airports that entails the assessment of the credibility of the threat, the formation of a Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC), and communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC). Aircraft would be diverted to the nearest airport, where security checks in regard to the aircraft and passenger baggage would be made in detail. Passengers will be kept in secure areas until cleared by security agencies.
2.    What are the effects of making a false bomb threat?
Making false bomb threats attracts severe legal punishment ranging from imprisonment and fine. Offenders in India can be booked under several acts, including IPC Section 505 for public mischief that can attract up to three years of imprisonment or the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which may offer life imprisonment if it is construed as an act of terrorism. Hoax threats also cause operational disturbances that incur serious financial losses for airlines.
3.     In what way are recent bomb hoax incidents playing with the airlines?
The newest of these incidents that have resulted in halting flights have seen hundreds of flights affected through hoax threats, including last month's at least 100 bomb threats across Indian airlines, accompanied by emergency landings, wide security checks, and exorbitant financial costs or even in some cases, fuel dumping and accommodations for passengers, which had pushed some of the incidents to well over ₹3 crore ($360,000).
4.     What have governments done about the flood of hoax bomb threats lately?
Government is even contemplating stricter laws to deal with this bomb threat hoax issue. India has suggested the enhancement of existing laws in which a five-year imprisonment would be meted out to the perpetrators of hoax bomb threats and hoaxers would be put in no-fly list. Authorities are collaborating with the law enforcement agencies in such cases of investigation and prosecutions.
5.     What should the passengers do if a bomb threat is incoming during journey?
Passengers must remain calm and listen to the airline staff as well as other personnel assigned to airports. Panic should be averted at any cost and unverified information regarding the event taking place should not be communicated. Passengers need to cooperate with security personnel during checks and remain in the designated safe areas until further instructions are received regarding their safety and travel plans