The flurry of hoax bomb threats since the past week has caused airlines losses to the tune of Rs 500 crore so far, NDTV reported on Tuesday, citing sources in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
So far, around 200 flights have received bomb threat calls, the persons familiar to the development said. These threats lead to the disruption of the plane's schedule and, in some cases, also lead to flight diversions.
Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, while briefing reporters a day earlier, said eight flights were diverted since the spree of threats began to be issued to Indian carriers from Oct. 14 onwards.
In cases of flight diversions, the plane is moved to the nearest airport instead of its scheduled destination. This leads to increased usage of fuel, which adds up to the cost of airlines, the persons said.
The cost also increases as arrangements are made to re-check the aircraft, accommodate the passengers in hotels, and take them to their destinations, they added.
When the airlines make emergency landings, they also pay parking charges to the concerned airport, the sources pointed out.
Apart from flight diversions, airline companies also incur losses when their flight schedules are disrupted due to the hoax threats, the persons said. This usually happens when the threat is issued before the plane has taken off, which leads to the aircraft being move into the isolation bay and rigorously scanned for suspicious items.
In such cases, arrangements for food including tea and water for the flight passengers add to the cost of airlines. They are also required to pay over duty charges to flight crew members and pilots, the persons explained.
All major Indian airlines, including IndiGo, Vistara, Air India, SpiceJet and Akasa Air, have been affected due to the dramatic and unprecedented surge in hoax threats.
Naidu, on Monday, told reporters that the government is in the process of amending the rules to put the perpetrators behind the hoax threats on "no-fly list."
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