Mumbai: Air India passengers arriving in New York from Mumbai on Saturday (Oct 19) faced delays due to a hoax bomb threat, adding to a series of false alarms the airline has experienced this month.

Port Authority Police of New York and New Jersey inspected the aircraft, baggage, and cargo after the flight landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport at 8:05 a.m., according to a spokesperson for the agency. No explosives were found, and the flight was cleared at 11:15 a.m.

A Delhi-to-Chicago flight landed at Canada's Iqaluit Airport on Oct. 15 as a precautionary measure after receiving a security threat.

The next day, police in Mumbai arrested a minor for allegedly posting online bomb threats to three flights, according to a statement from civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on X.

Air India representatives didn't reply to a request for comment. At least 60 false alarms have targeted Indian airlines and airports in the first six months of the year.

Mentioned that more than 90 fake bomb threats have been made against flights operated by multiple Indian airlines in a week, Indian media reported on Sunday (Oct 20), sparking fear among passengers and global delays.

All flights landed safely, but the spate of threats has resulted in planes being diverted to Canada and Germany, and fighter jets scrambled to escort aircraft in the skies above Britain and Singapore.

Besides, India’s government and civil aviation authorities have warned that “very strict action” will be taken.

New Delhi’s civil aviation authorities have not said how many threats have been received in the past week, but media reported more than 70 hoaxes targeting both domestic and international flights since Oct 13.

-B