Threats to flights: Mumbai airport conducts bomb drill

In response to a series of bomb threats over the past four days Mumbai Airport conducted extensive bomb drills early Thursday at Terminal 1 T1 and later at Terminal 2 T2 around 11 am The drills involved all key stakeholders and security agenciesThe decision to conduct the drills comes after an alarming rise in bomb threats to airlines Reports indicate that the threats have escalated significantly with three incidents reported on October 14 seven on October 15 ten on October 16 and tweleve on October 17 totaling 28 threats to aircraft operated by Indian airlines in just four daysCoinciding with the drills the airport was scheduled for its annual postmonsoon runway maintenance from 11 am to 5 pm on Thursday As a result no runways were operational during this time DGCA officials confirmed that all operations proceeded smoothly and no delays or cancellations were reportedA passenger who had disembarked from a flight before the drill started told midday ldquoTill the end of the drill no one was aware that it was a drill We all thought this was a genuine bomb threat All security personnel were seen working just like it was a real threat There were no disruptions though due to the runway maintenancerdquoldquoI canrsquot liemdashI was pretty anxious reading about all the threats leading up to my flight It felt surreal to see security teams conducting drills right in front of me At first I was worried it would cause delays but Irsquom grateful theyrsquore being proactive I just want to get to my meeting without a hitch Itrsquos comforting to know theyrsquore on top of thingsrdquo a passenger who arrived from Newark told midday on condition of anonymityldquoSeeing the airport in such a heightened state of alert was definitely unsettling Irsquove travelled through here countless times and itrsquos usually so calm The security drills were wellorganised but the anxiety in the air was palpable I appreciate that theyrsquore being vigilant but I canrsquot shake this feeling of unease as I wait for my flightrdquo said Fatima Khan a Mumbai resident who had just flown in from Abu DhabildquoLooking at the news over the past few days I was a bit terrified that I had to fly on Thursday Terrified because what if my flight receives a bomb threat After landing here and clearing customs we were informed that the bomb threat had dissipated and all of us were escorted outside the terminal Those passengers who were yet to clear Customs and other formalities were asked to stay at the airside itselfAfter enquiring with security personnel at the site I came to know that this was a drill and not an actual threat I was so relieved to hear that After the scare I was also happy to understand that the agencies were taking necessary means to keep themselves prepared for an actual threatrdquo said another passenger who arrived from New YorkNo of bomb threats reported in the past 4 daysOctober 14 3 threatsl Air India AI119Mumbai to New Yorkl IndiGo 6E57Mumbai to Jeddahl IndiGo 6E1275Mumbai to MuscatOctober 15 7 threatsl Air India AI172Delhi to Chicagol SpiceJet SG116Darbhanga to Mumbail Air India Express IX684 Madurai to Singaporel Akasa QP1373Bagdogra to Bangalorel Air India Express IX765 Jaipur to Ayodhyal IndiGo 6E98Dammam to Lucknowl Vistara UK 161Delhi to Hong KongOctober 16 10 threatsl Air India Express IX437 Kochi to Dubail Alliance Air 9I770 Kolkata to Guwahatil IndiGo 6E651Mumbai to Delhil Air India AI302Delhi to San Franciscol IndiGo 6E74Riyadh to Mumbail IndiGo 6E1011Mumbai to Singaporel IndiGo 6E515Chennai to Lucknowl SpiceJet SG116 Darbhanga to Mumbai second threat in three daysl SpiceJet SG124Leh to Delhil Vistara UK28Frankfurt to MumbaiOctober 17 12 threatsl Air India AI129 MumLonl Air India AI119 MumNYl Vistara UK22 Paris Delhil Air India 101 DelhiNYl AI 186 VancouverDelhil Air India 126 ChicagoDelhil Indigo 6E 118 LucknowPunel Indigo 6E 18Istanbul to Mumbail IX 419 KochiAbu Dhabil IX 412 SharjahKochil IX 475 KochiDohal IX 345 KozhikodeDoha