A dramatic and unprecedented surge in hoax bomb threats targeting Indian airlines is wreaking havoc on flight schedules, diverting planes and causing widespread disruptions. A video posted on social media last week showed passengers draped in woollens,

Air India passengers arriving in New York from Mumbai on Saturday were delayed by a hoax bomb threat, adding to a string of false alarms the carrier has received this month.

More than 90 fake bomb threats have been made against flights operated by multiple Indian airlines this week, Indian media reported Sunday, sparking fear among passengers and global delays.India's IndiGo airline confirmed threats were made against six of its flights on Sunday.

According to flight tracker Flightradar24, the Air Indian Express plane took off from the Madurai airport at about 1.54pm local time and was due to land in Singapore at about 8.50pm. It only landed at 10.04pm after a delay of over an hour.

So far this week, more than 70 domestic and international flights of Indian airlines have received bomb threats, with all of them turning out to be hoaxes.

Amid a surge in hoax bomb threats targeting Indian airlines, officials from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) held a meeting with airline representatives at the agency's headquarters in Delhi on Saturday.