Hoax bomb calls to airlines have gone down, says official

New Delhi: Authorities have successfully handled the menace of hoax bomb calls to airlines and such calls have reduced, a senior government official said on Thursday.

Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam also said that procedures being adopted to deal with fog-related disruptions have been streamlined.

To a query about hoax bomb calls, he said that authorities have tackled them successfully.

A few weeks back, hundreds of flights had received bomb threat calls that later turned out to be hoaxes. These threats had significantly impacted flight operations of various domestic carriers.

"Our security have tackled this (hoax bomb calls) and we have seen also that we have been successful. The numbers have now gone down and from the airport threat assessment committee also, the consultation process has been streamlined. They have been made more responsive, (for) quick response...

"We have successfully handled the hoax cases so that passengers and flights are not disrupted by hoax calls," Vualnam said.

As part of preparations for the fog season during which generally there are flight disruptions due to low visibility conditions, the secretary said airlines have been instructed to timely inform passengers about delays or cancellations. "We will be issuing fresh instructions to remind airlines and airports for the arrangements for passengers".

"If there is any unavoidable delay in flights or cancellations, the procedures being adopted have been streamlined... BCAS has issued the circular and the drills are taking place. With this, there will be a better handling of fog season this year," he said.

Other steps include allowing passengers to exit from an aircraft through an airport departure gate in case there is a long delay in operating the flight after boarding. In this regard, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) had issued a circular earlier this year.

"Now, with the drills and the space being earmarked, it has been activated. It requires holding areas to be earmarked and all those things... It will be applicable everywhere (airports) but Delhi is the top priority because of the weather and the volume of people," the secretary said on the sidelines of an event in the national capital.

On Wednesday, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu held a review meeting with various stakeholders on fog preparedness.