BOMB THREATS TARGET 7 FLIGHTS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM 'X'

Seven flights, including one bound for the United States, received bomb-threat messages through a social media handle on Tuesday, prompting security agencies to undertake specific counterterrorist drills at various airports, official sources said.

The threats via microblogging platform X came a day after three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats, causing trouble to hundreds of passengers and airline crew. The messages posted on Monday were declared a hoax. The sources said an X handle issued threats on Tuesday to seven flights -- an Air India Express flight from Jaipur to Bengaluru via Ayodhya (IX765), a SpiceJet flight from Darbhanga to Mumbai (SG116), an Akasa Air flight from Bagdogra to Bengaluru (QP 1373), an Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago (AI 127), an Indigo flight from Dammam (Saudi Arabia) to Lucknow (6E98), an Alliance Air AmritsarDehradun-Delhi flight (91 650) and an Air India Express flight (IX 684) from Madurai to Singapore.

The X handle has since been suspended by the platform after the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) wrote to cyber-security agencies.