Ahmedabad: Bomb-threat hoaxes may be used by smuggling networks to disrupt airport security responses, delay flights, conceal contraband and exploit gaps in Customs surveillance, a report mapping 104 aviation threat incidents between 2010 and 2026 has found.
Telecom tracing reportedly located the caller inside Terminal 3. At Chennai, a threat involving SpiceJet flight SG-88 from Bangkok on Jan 24, 2025, led to emergency deboarding. Customs officials recovered 40,000 cigarette sticks and 650gm of gold bangles coated with silver paint after two passengers allegedly abandoned shoulder bags near the deboarding point. The goods were valued at about Rs 52 lakh.
The third uses emergency deboarding and baggage screening to create confusion, during which carriers may abandon bags containing contraband. The fourth involves sending multiple threats to divert CISF, police, bomb-disposal and Customs personnel towards aircraft isolation bays, potentially stretching surveillance resources in other parts of the airport. Authorities identified and arrested a passenger near the boarding gate. Investigators classified the threat as an attempt to delay the flight following the Customs detention, rather than an unrelated security scare. It calls for coordinated response protocols involving CISF, airport police, Customs Air Intelligence Units and bomb-disposal teams during aircraft isolation, baggage screening and evacuation.
The report puts seizures in connected cases at about 5.9kg of gold valued at over Rs 4.5 crore, 3.2kg of methaqualone valued at Rs 3.2 crore, along with foreign currency, commercial vapes, and cigarettes. Another confirmed case was reported at Delhi airport on Nov 2, 2024, involving IndiGo flight 6E-2114 bound for Bangkok. The report says the call followed the detention of an accomplice by Customs after officers recovered 120 commercial vapes and undeclared foreign currency — $18,000 and €5,000.
Of the seven cases, four had confirmed links, while three were deemed probable or remained under investigation. By warning of a bomb in that location, smugglers may discourage passengers or crew from accessing the area, allowing the contraband to remain undisturbed until an accomplice can retrieve it. The second method involves making a hoax call to ground or delay a flight after Customs officers detain a carrier or accomplice, potentially giving others involved time to respond. An anonymous caller claimed that explosives had been placed in checked baggage.