Bomb hoax: Canadian air force ferrying stranded Air India passengers to Chicago from remote Canadian town | Business News
Over 200 passengers who were stranded in a remote Canadian town after their Chicago-bound flight–Air India’s AI127–was diverted due to a hoax bomb threat on Tuesday are being transported to Chicago on a Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft, Canadian authorities and Air India announced on Wednesday.
Notably, this comes at a time when ties between India and Canada have hit a low, marked by a public diplomatic showdown between the two countries.
“Air India flight 127 made an emergency landing in Iqaluit, today following a global aviation bomb threat. 211 passengers are stranded, and the airline hasn’t found a solution. Despite great efforts, the city of Iqaluit is not equipped to house these passengers. After consultation with Transport Minister @AnitaAnandMP and in my role as Minister of Emergency Preparedness, I have approved a request for @CanadianForces resources to ease the pressure on Iqaluit and send passengers safely to their destination in Chicago,” Canadian minister Harjit Sajjan posted on X.
Thanking the Canadian authorities for facilitating the transfer of the stranded passengers, the airline said: “Air India is pleased to announce passengers of flight AI127, which was diverted to Iqaluit in Canada on October 15, are on their way to their destination Chicago.
Passengers are being ferried on a Canadian Air Force aircraft that has taken off from Iqaluit at 03:54 hrs UTC and is expected to land in Chicago at around 07:48 hrs UTC. We thank the Canadian authorities and authorities at Iqaluit airport for their support and assistance extended to the passengers and Air India during this unexpected disruption.”
Air India’s Boeing 777 aircraft that was operating the Delhi-Chicago flight could not take the passengers from Iqaluit as the crew had overshot its flight duty time limitations (FDTL), which means that they could not have operated the flight without a mandatory rest period, it is learnt. The aircraft is likely to be ferried by an alternate the crew that Air India would be sending.
Air India’s Delhi-Chicago flight was among the seven flights of Indian carriers that got hoax bomb threats via social media on Tuesday. The Aircraft India flight was the only one among the affected flights that was forced to divert overseas. Other flights were either delayed or diverted for security checks in India, or were subject to security inspections upon landing at their intended destinations.
Although most bomb threats turn out to be fake, airlines as well as aviation authorities globally take them with utmost seriousness.
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On Tuesday, an Air India spokesperson noted that Indian carriers have been subject to a number of hoax threats in recent days, adding that all such threats are taken seriously. The airline said that it is extending cooperation to the authorities in identifying the perpetrators of such threats “to ensure that they are held accountable for the disruption and inconvenience caused to passengers”. The carrier will also consider legal action against those responsible to recover damages incurred by it due to the fake threats.
Whenever an aircraft receives a bomb threat, a detailed security protocol is followed which includes diverting the aircraft to a nearby suitable airport and taking it to an isolated bay, where passengers are quickly made to deplane. The aircraft as well as passengers’ bags are subject to a thorough security inspection before being allowed to take off again. The security checks, which often take a few hours, result in disruptions like delays and even rescheduling of the remainder of the flight in some cases, which hit the airlines financially.
Over the past few months, a number of Indian airlines’ flights have received fake bomb threats. On Monday, three international flights originating from Mumbai–one of Air India and two of IndiGo–received hoax bomb threats, forcing one diversion and extended delays for the other two flights.
Just last month, a Vistara flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt had diverted to Erzurum airport in Turkey’s eastern region following a bomb threat. While the threat turned out to be a hoax, the incident became an ordeal for the passengers who were stuck in Erzurum for nearly 24 hours.
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This was because by the time the necessary security checks were completed, the crew had exceeded its flight duty time limitations. Consequently, Vistara had to send an alternative aircraft with a fresh set of crew to fly the passengers stuck in Erzurum to Frankfurt.
