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Canada withdraws enhanced security air protocol for travelers to India
The announcement comes as a relief to Canadian travelers bound for India especially in the winter months of November and December when a large number of Canadians of Indian descent prefer to travel home for festivities and major social events.
Stock image. / Pexels
Members of the Indian diaspora heaved a sigh of relief as the new enhanced security protocol for those travelling to India from various Canadian airports has been withdrawn.
The Canadian Transport Minister Anita Anand said that the extra screening measures imposed earlier this week on India-bound travelers have now been lifted.
Earlier this week, Anita Anand had said in a news statement that, "out of an abundance of caution," the transport ministry that also controls civil aviation would temporarily implement additional security screening for travellers to India.
The announcement comes as a relief to Canadian travelers bound for India especially in the winter months of November and December when a large number of Canadians of Indian descent prefer to travel home for festivities and major social events including weddings, rural sports festivals and, later on, some traditional festivals like Lohri, Basant Panchami and Vaisakhi.
The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) was given the mandate to conduct additional screening measures both for India-bound passengers and their baggage. The screenings were to be conducted before the passengers entered the restricted post-security boarding areas.
Last month, an Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago was diverted to Iqaluit after a “hoax” call that said that there was a “bomb” on board of the aircraft. No bomb was found on board.
The bomb-scarred Air India flight made an emergency landing in Iqaluit around 5:20 a.m. on Oct.15.
Since there has been a growing wedge in bilateral relations between two once-friendly nations for the past more than a year, Transport Canada made the announcement to the great dismay of India-bound passengers. Canada has more than two million people of Indian origin living here.
The announcement was seen in continuation of the RCMP revelations that linked agents of the Indian government to certain violent crimes in Canada, including acts of murder, extortion and intimidation.
Another provocation that prompted Transport Canada to introduce enhanced security screenings was the spate of “hoax calls” about “bombs” on board of various Indian air carriers, both on domestic and international destinations.
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