In The Face Of Strained Relations, Canadian Government Lends Air India A Helping Hand After 777-300ER Bomb Threat Diversion

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