Bomb hoax on Indian flights: Who is Adam Lanza, on whom Twitter handle linked to threats is named?
- by Firstpost
- Oct 21, 2024
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At least 90 hoax bomb threats have been issued to Indian airlines in the past week, hitting operations. About 70 per cent of these false threats reportedly originated from a single source: @adamlanza1111 on X. The notorious handle is named after Adam Lanza, the mass shooter who orchestrated the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, one of the deadliest school shootings in the US, in 2012
The reports say Lanza’s mother was increasingly protective of him since 10
th
grade after her separation from her husband and had kept him at home, where an arsenal of firearms surrounded him. He also spent long hours playing violent games.
His medical and school records included references to diagnoses of sensory disorder, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder. He also had a phobia of germs.
Thus, it is even more disturbing that a social media handle had been named after a man obsessed with mass shootings.
How common are hoax threats to the aviation industry?
Well, false threats targeting Indian airlines are not new.
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Last week alone, at least 90 threats were reported, resulting in diversions, cancellations and delays. In June, 41 airports received hoax bomb threats via email in a single day, prompting heightened security, as per the BBC. There were about 120 false bomb alerts at airports between 2014 and 2017. Nearly half of them were directed at Delhi and Mumbai airports, also the largest ones in the country.
IndiGo, Air India, Akasa Air all of them have received different bomb threats since Monday. This has led the Centre to begin investigations and even mull stricter punishments for those involved. File image/Reuters
A 17-year-old school dropout was arrested last week for creating a social media account to issue such hoax threats to four flights, three international ones. This resulted in two delays, one diversion and one cancellation. The motive behind false alerts remains unclear.
The report citing experts says false bomb threats are often linked to malicious intent, attention-seeking, mental health issues, disruption of business operations or even a prank. In 2018, there was an instance reported in Indonesia where jokes about bombs by passengers led to flight disruptions. Even passengers may be the culprits sometimes. In 2023, a frustrated passenger in Bihar attempted to delay a SpiceJet flight by calling a bomb hoax alert after he missed his check-in at an airport.
How do these affect airlines?
False threats wreak havoc in one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets.
More than 3,000 flights operate every day in the country from more than 150 operational airports. This includes 33 international airports. As per Civil Aviation Ministry, more than 150 million passengers flew domestically in India last year. The industry has just under 700 commercial passenger planes in services and an order backlog of more than 1,700 planes, according to the BBC, quoting Rob Morris of Cirium, a consultancy.
Hoaxes are peaking at a time when the country’s airlines prepare for a festive season. On October 14, Indian airlines carried a record 484,263 passengers on a single day.
“All this would certainly render India the fastest-growing commercial aircraft market today,” he says.
This rise in threats also has significant cost and network implications.
The BBC quoted Siddharth Kapur, an independent aviation expert, saying, “Every diverted or delayed flight incurs substantial expenses, as grounded aircraft become money-losing assets. Delays lead to cancellations, and schedules are thrown off balance.”
Additionally, most threats are posted on social media from anonymous accounts, further complicating efforts to identify culprits.
With inputs from agencies
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