Hoax bomb call menace: Perpetrators to be put on no-fly list

Mangalore Today /CNN

New Delhi, October 21, 2024: Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu on Monday said that those caught for making hoax bomb calls to airlines will be put on a no-fly list. Naidu said that the Centre is also trying to make amendments to the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation (SUASCA) Act, 1982.

“We have another act in place since 1980s, we need to cover the offences on ground and at airports,” he said, adding that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is continuously in touch with the home ministry on the situation of bomb threats to flights.

Section 3 of the Act made provisions for life imprisonment and fine if any communication was made “onboard” to affect flight operations. Now, the ministry of civil aviation is proposing to make any such disruption from the ground also punishable by life term.

CNN-News18 had reported exclusively that the central government was proposing an amendment to the law to tackle the menace of hoax calls. At least 100 flights of different airline services received these threats, which later turned out to be hoaxes.

Asked about the terror angle, Naidu refused to comment and said there is no point in doing so without thorough investigation. “It will be a cognisable offence – punishment and penalty – we want to do it as soon as possible. The MoCA (Ministry of Civil Aviation) has sent its inputs to the other ministries for consultation,” he said.

He added: “This is happening over the past week. I want to tell people that whenever there is a threat, we have a strict protocol that we follow with international guidelines.”

According to sources, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Director General RS Bhatti and his BCAS counterpart General Zulfiquar Hasan met Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, who was apprised of the recent hoax calls in domestic and international flights.