Arriving in time for holiday travel and potentially lost luggage, a new feature that allows Apple AirTag owners to share the location of a lost item is now integrated with the customer service systems of two major airlines. United and Air Canada are the first launch partners for Apple’s “Find My Share Item Location” feature, […]
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India's airlines have already received 999 hoax bomb threats this year, Murlidhar Mohol, India's deputy civil aviation minister, said on Thursday.
In written answers to India's upper house, he said the number was almost 10 times more than in the whole of 2023, according to Reuters.
Reuters reported that the false claims were mostly made via social media.
Mohol said that 12 people had been arrested in connection with 256 police complaints filed over hoax bomb threats up until November 14, and that more than 500 threats had been made in the final two weeks of October, more than in the rest of the year combined.
"The recent threats were hoaxes, and no actual threat was detected at any of the airports/aircraft in India," he said.
The spike in incidents has forced planes to be diverted, and has led to rising costs for airlines.
A Boeing 777 flight from Delhi to Chicago in early October was diverted due to what Harjit Sajjan, Canada's minister of emergency preparedness, said at the time was a "bomb threat," stranding more than 200 passengers for over 18 hours at a remote airport.
In mid-October, Singapore's air force dispatched two fighter jets to escort an Air India Express plane away from populated areas after the airline got an email saying a bomb was on board, the country's defense minister said.
Another Air India plane flying from Mumbai to New York was diverted midair to New Delhi in October, The Indian Express reported at the time.
The Times of India, quoting senior officials, said the cost of diverting that plane amounted to more than $354,500.
Osprey Flight Solutions, a private aviation risk company, said there doesn't seem to have been any real threat to aviation, but told Reuters earlier this month that the hoaxes result in increased airport security checks, inflate airlines' financial costs, and cause major concern and distress among passengers.
More than 3,000 flights depart daily from India's airports, according to the country's civil aviation ministry.
Courtesy of Jessika Ros Malic
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jessika Ros Malic, a former Emirates stewardess from Phoenix, about living in Dubai. It's been edited for length and clarity.
Moving to Dubai was a whirlwind. In 2010, I heard that Emirates was hiring. After going through the interview process, they notified me of acceptance in April, and I moved to Dubai in August with my life packed up in two and a half suitcases.
It was my first time over the Atlantic.
There were so many international businesses and restaurants that it was almost as if the entire globe was in one city. That's what I loved most about Dubai — the many different cultures in one place.
Living there was a crash course in global interactions. But I moved back home to Phoenix permanently in 2017.
Upon arriving, Emirates housed me in an apartment. I had two and a half months of intense training before starting a hectic work schedule. My monthly schedule was only released at the end of each previous month. This meant I could only plan my life for a month at a time, and I was rarely in town.
When I was home, I spent much of my time socializing. Working 11-hour shifts was difficult, and back then, all there was to do in Dubai was party, go to bars, and shop.
You could go anywhere and meet people from, say, 10 countries speaking 15 languages. It's a fascinating city because only about 20% are local nationals, and 80% are a complete mix of expats of other nationalities. Temperature-wise, Dubai is comparable to Phoenix, but Dubai is much more humid because of the ocean.
Once in a while, we'd go out to the desert.
I missed that there was much more to do in Phoenix besides nightlife, such as hiking, visiting nature preserves, camping, museums, festivals, and more.
In Dubai, I found it impossible to get anything done over the phone. There was also no address system back then. I had no idea how their local mail system worked and never learned how to mail something to anyone living there.
We took taxis everywhere as they were affordable, and the lack of addresses meant you had to know exactly where you were going. If it wasn't a well-known location or destination, I often had to tell the driver to head to landmarks or direct them exactly where to go.
We're so spoiled in Phoenix. We live on a grid, so you can easily get from one place to another. In Dubai, it's like someone took some crayons, swirled them on a page, and said, "This is the highway system."
Luckily for me, housing was provided for Emirates crew members. Another perk is the live-out allowance — a stipend for living away from home. Because of Emirates, Dubai was affordable for me.
At the same time, I was sick every month and got food poisoning at least three times a year. The physical toll made me tired of flying, and I just wanted to go home. I met my husband in Dubai and married in 2013. He was also ready to move, so we explored purchasing property in Phoenix.
We bought our first house during a visit back home to Phoenix in 2015, although we didn't move back permanently until early 2017. It was located in South Phoenix in a new development and was a dream find.
Our home was 2,500 square feet, close to the freeways, had a three-car garage, and had four bedrooms. We paid $187,000 cash with my husband's parents' help. I loved that house, but we eventually sold it after we divorced this year.
I miss my glamorous days of traveling and living in Dubai, but I'm happy to be settled and close to friends and family in Phoenix. These days, I'm working as a communications and events manager at a nonprofit, and the work is satisfying.
If you moved out of the US for a dream job and want to tell your story, please email Manseen Logan at [email protected].
