We cannot discuss the latest bomb threat diversion on Air India, this time to a remote Canadian province, without talking about the unraveling relations between Canada and India. The likely common link? The Khalistan movement. But an act of grace by Canada after over 200 Air India passengers found themselves stranded in the Canadian Arctic may soften what is turning into a nasty diplomatic row.
Canada Comes To Aid Of Air India After Bomb Threat And Diversion To Canadian Arctic
On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada had expelled India’s High Commissioner (Ambassador) and five other diplomats after new evidence emerged about the Indian government’s involvement in the targeting or assassination of Canadian citizens. In June 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh involved with the Khalistan separatist movement (seeking to create a homeland for Sikhs), was assassinated. Canada has alleged that the Indian government was behind the assassination. India has vehemently denied involvement, though US and Canadian investigators strongly believe otherwise. India responded by expelling several Canadian diplomats from India.
The Khalistan movement is understandably a big deal in India and the Indian government and Hindu nationalists view such a movement as terrorism.
One tool that is used to disrupt (though it is not yet clear who called in the bomb threat here) is calling in bomb threats. Such threats have proliferated recently, with more than a dozen flights from India diverting in the last 48 hours due to such threats.
That included Air India flight 127, traveling from New Delhi (DEL) to Chicago (ORD) on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 and operated by a Boeing 777-300ER jet (registration code VT-ALM). A bomb threat was posted on social media, prompting a diversion to the Canadian Arctic.
#ImportantUpdate pic.twitter.com/uXQ4DS943e
— Air India (@airindia) October 16, 2024
After landing in Iqaluit, Canada (YFB), the aircraft was carefully checked and nothing suspicious was found. But the crew was unable to continue (having exceeded maximum duty hours). Because the infrastructure in Iqaluit lacks sufficient beds for the 211 passengers and 20 crewmembers onboard, the Royal Canadian Air Force stepped in, sending in an Airbus A330 to transfer the stranded passengers to Chicago.
UPDATE VIDEO: Took the video at 9:30PM tonight here in #Iqaluit #Nunavut @RCAF is here now to pick up the passengers
Flight #AI127 @airindia #YFBSpotters #YFBVideos pic.twitter.com/XL89uNMX5p
— 𝔣𝓇𝓪𝐧k ᖇ乇𝓐г𝕕𝐎𝐍 Ƥʰᵒᵗ𝕆𝐬 (@FrankReardon1) October 16, 2024
An Olive Branch From Canada
As a political scientist, I cannot help but focus on the olive branch extended by Canada here. Presumably, Canadian taxpayers will pay for the fuel and other costs incurred by the A330 that was sent from Trenton (YTR) to Iqaluit to Chicago and back to Trenton.
This strikes me as wise statecraft. While India has a justifiable concern to eliminate terrorism against its sovereignty, targeting Canadian citizens in Canada is not the way to do it…ultimately, I think we can understand why India felt it had to eliminate Nijjar, but it also seems that doing so has created far more problems than solving them.
As the diplomatic row between Canada and India worsens, hopefully, this act of kindness by Canada will be a balm that ratchets down tensions.
What Do About These Bomb Threats…
We cannot forget the 1985 bombing of Air India flight 182 by Sikh terrorists, which still marks the worst terrorist attack in Canada’s history.
It’s a dangerous game to dismiss bomb threats…even as they proliferate. That may become necessary if Air India or other Indian carriers start deceiving dozens per day, but the better response is more harshly punishing those who make such threats (20 years in a penal colony?). Another alternative could be carefully checking every plane before it departs beyond just a visual search and baggage screening.
But a civilized society will take every threat seriously because in these cases there is no room for error. I do concede that a real bomb threat will likely not be called in…but erring on the side of caution is still the best course of action among many unfavorable choices.
CONCLUSION
The olive branch extended by Canada in transporting stranded Air India passengers from Iqaluit to Chicago will hopefully lessen some of the tensions between India and Canada over the Khalistan separatist movement in Canada. There is no handbook guiding this sort of reaction, but gestures like this show a preference for stability, which is something both India and Canada desire. Don’t we all?
image: Florian Klebl
Just so you know they found out who made the threats. https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/minor-taken-into-custody-over-hoax-bomb-threats-to-airlines-6803831
The bomb threat could have been made by anyone, including by fans of the Modi government or even Modi government agents.
This incident happened right after Canada ordered the removal of Indian diplomats who provided cover and facilitation to Indian government assassination plots in Canada and the US aimed at nationals of Canada and also of the US. A lot of angry Modi fans wanted to retaliate against Canada and people going between Canada and the US.
The Indian government nowadays even considers some journalists to be terrorists even in the absence of credible evidence of being materially involved in any terrorist act. The India of today under Modi is a proto-fascist/neo-fascist state. Even Vajpayee himself could he considered an “anti-national terrorist” by some of the extreme Modi fan brigade which really hates Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru and the legacy of India’s freedom fighters who refused to make common cause with Hitler and copy the Nazi movements in the way of the RSS/BJP that is now so deeply in love with Netanyahu and the ways of Israel that they want to do the same now that they are considered an indispensable ally of the US.
A generous move by Canada to de-escalate tension. Bomb threats are no less terrorism than physical violence. Disruptive to peace, those that threaten deserve the full punishment of the acts promised.
This assistance by Canada had nothing to do with trying to placate the Indian government. It was Canada doing what any sensible government would do for any civilian commercial flight needing to divert due to a serious security concern about the safety of the flight.
I stand by my words. It was a generous gesture, not required.
@GUWonder: I agree with Maryland on Canada’s generosity, but I was also very clear not to blame the bomb threat on anyone; you are correct that it could just as easily have been a Hindu zealot as a Sikh separatist.
What else was Canada going to do, ignore the situation? Have they done something similar in the past where they told the flight crew and passengers “Whelp, sorry, you’re on your own”?
Can you point to a past case where Canada dispatched a widebody jet to transport stranded passengers to the United States?
I was expecting sleeping bags and food, like the Air India Russian diversion last year, not this.
I’m not familiar with Canada’s dealings with all of it’s stranded passengers throughout it’s history, hence me asking.
With regards to sending them to the US, I imagine it was probably because quite a few of them may not have had visa access to Canada.
Also with regards to your link, who knows why Canada did not grant those people emergency visas like Russia did.
Rather than speculating that these incidents were because of political elements at playit would be best to check the news! Excerpt from news in India: “A minor has been taken into custody by the Mumbai Police over a series of bomb threats being issued to various airlines since Monday, leading to some flights being diverted, including one to a remote airport in Canada. Police said the threats were allegedly issued because the boy wanted to frame one of his friends, with whom he had a dispute over money.” Source NDTV India
That is a theory of the case…yes, it merits mentioning. No, I’m not fully convinced.
And Air India takes no responsibility for this, instead escalating to the Canadian government which bailed it out by sending a CAF plane. What about the actual AI plane, did it fly back to India?
According to FlightRadar24, it will fly to Chicago today and Delhi tomorrow.
iqaluit is a really small community, most locals don’t the resources to live comfortably. I can’t understand why the Canadian Government would fly the passengers to Chicago! A Canadian Airforces plane is probably nicer than any Air India plane. Let’s hope things stay peaceful between Canada and India. Most Canadians don’t want to see this escalate