Visakhapatnam: Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu announced on Sunday that the Centre is considering measures to prohibit individuals responsible for hoax bomb threats from flying. Speaking to the media after the inauguration of two flights connecting Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada, Naidu emphasised the government's commitment to addressing the issue of fake threats.

Naidu revealed that the government is not only seeking assistance from international agencies, law enforcement, and the Intelligence Bureau to prevent these hoaxes but is also planning to amend two Civil Aviation Laws. He stated, “Those who resort to these kinds of activities will be punished severely and imposed a penalty. We are also taking steps to ban such persons from flying. We will announce them in the coming days.”

The announcement comes in the wake of over 300 flights operated by Indian carriers receiving hoax bomb threats in just 13 days, with the majority of these threats originating from social media platforms. Naidu noted that investigations into these fake threats are ongoing, and cooperation from the social media platform 'X' is being sought to aid in the inquiries. PTI