The story
A large rise in hoax bomb threats has caused chaos around the world with flights having to land in the wrong places or turn around.
A hoax bomb threat is where someone says they have put a bomb somewhere but they’re lying. They can cause lots of problems for airlines and passengers because airlines and authorities have to take the threats seriously in case they’re real.
In the last week, there have been at least 90 fake threats, targeting mostly Indian airlines.
News headlines
RAF Typhoon fighters scrambled as Heathrow-bound flight latest target of bomb threats
The Standard
False threats, real losses: Airlines see red as they lose money & passenger goodwill
The Times of India
Faced with flurry of bomb hoaxes, govt mulls law revamp
The Week, India
Key words and phrases
scramble
move quickly and urgently
- When the fire alarm went off, everyone scrambled to evacuate the building.
see red
become very angry
- I couldn’t believe it when the train was delayed, then cancelled, and then all the buses were cancelled too. I just totally saw red.
mull (something over)
think about something carefully
- I’ve been mulling over whether to move house for a while now and I think I’ve finally made a decision.