Bomb threat causes Air India emergency landing in Iqaluit

An Air India flight made an emergency landing in Iqaluit Tuesday morning due to an online bomb threat.

Flight AI217 was en route from New Delhi to Chicago, when it took the precautionary measure of landing at Iqaluit Airport, according to a written statement from Air India.

Air India said it, and other Indian airlines, have been subject to a number of threats in recent days.

“Though all have subsequently been found to be hoaxes, as a responsible airline operator, all threats are taken seriously,” said the company.

It said it’s considering legal action against the “perpetrators of such threats to ensure that they are held accountable for the disruption and inconvenience caused to passengers” and to recover damages to the airline.

Nunavut RCMP said all 211 passengers and crew disembarked the aircraft around 5:20am and were relocated to Iqaluit International Airport.

As the incident happened in Nunavut, Cpl. George Henrie said local authorities will be investigating the bomb threat.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of supporting a campaign of violence against Canadians on Canadian soil, and expelled six Indian diplomats.

That came hours after RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme held a press conference about how Mounties have learned a “significant amount of information about the breadth and depth of criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the government of India and consequential threats to the safety and security of Canadians and individuals living in Canada.”