Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Monday said that the government is looking to amend rules to put perpetrators of bomb threats to airlines in no-fly list. Nearly 100 flights have received bomb threats in seven days since October 14. All the threats were later found to be hoaxes. At a briefing in the national capital, Naidu said amendments are being planned to aviation security rules as well as the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982.The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is continuously in touch with the Ministry of Home Affairs on the situation of bomb threats to flights, he said.Naidu said that even though the threats have turned out to be hoaxes, the Aviation department and the airlines are not talking it lightly and are following strict protocols. “It is a very sensitive situation when it comes to such threats, there is an international procedure that we have to follow,” he said. “If you look at the last week, eight flights have been diverted. Each threat is assessed individually and our response has been efficient and dynamic. We are also not compromising on safety and security. Even though most of them are hoax threats, we cannot take them lightly. The lives of passengers are important, the security situation is important and protocol is important. We have enhanced security at airports,” the minister said. To a query on whether there is a conspiracy behind the threats, Naidu said investigations are on, and did not offer any specific comments.”Safety and security of passengers are of utmost priority,” he said.Meanwhile, two top aviation security officers met Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan on Monday to discuss the issue of bomb threats.Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) Director General (DG) Zulfiquar Hasan and Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Rajwinder Singh Bhatti met Mohan at the latter’s office at North Block here.The three officers remained closeted for about half an hour.Hasan and Bhatti, both senior officers belonging to the Indian Police Service, have briefed the home secretary about the incidents of bomb threats and the steps taken to check such incidents, sources said.However, details of the meeting are not known immediately.(With inputs from PTI)
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