Bomb hoaxes: Government planning to revamp rules; to ensure flights aren’t disrupted

NEW DELHI: The government is planning to revamp rules on the response to bomb threats against flights after a spate of hoaxes have led to widespread disruption and cascading delays. Along with heightened security screenings of passenger and cargo, including secondary ladder-point checks of hand luggage before boarding, there will be more precise assessments so that not all threat messages lead to an immediate landing and aircraft can continue their journey.Narrowing Down ‘Specific Threats’Besides this, authorities are also working with virtual private network (VPN) providers to trace perpetrators, they said.Top Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) officials met CEOs of Indian airlines in an emergency huddle over the weekend to discuss the matter.“Most of the threats over the last few days have emerged on social media platforms,” said a person aware of developments. “The pattern is… a single anonymous handle posts multiple threats within a few hours and then it is…