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Travelling to India, be prepared for enhanced security protocol at Canadian airports
“Passengers may experience some screening delays while these measures are in place", Canadian Federal Transport Minister Anita Anand said in a statement.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are all smiles at a G20 summit event in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. / Courtesy Photo
The pleasantries exchanged by Indian and Canadian Prime Ministers at the just concluded G 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro may not be enough to provide any respite from the growing bitterness in bilateral relations between the two once-friendly nations. The gulf between New Delhi and Ottawa has now widened further with Canada announcing enhanced security measures for air passengers travelling to India from its various international airports.
The Canadian Federal Transport Minister Anita Anand has announced a series of measures purportedly to make commuting between the two nations “safer”. Citing need for increased caution, she says that new measures that have become effective immediately may cause inconvenience and delay because of additional security protocols being introduced now.
All air carriers operating flights to India from Canada have been advised and told to follow the additional security screening measures. “Passengers may experience some screening delays while these measures are in place, Anand said in a statement.
It is not for the first time that enhanced security protocol has been introduced for passengers travelling to India. Last year when the Sikhs for Justice gave a call to Sikhs to boycott Air India flights, both Air India and the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) took the call seriously and introduced multi-tier screening of passengers before boarding India-bound flights.
With the latest announcement, the CATSA, as mandated, would oversee additional screening of both baggage and passengers. The new measures would include x-ray screening of carry-on luggage, physical inspections of passengers and increased use of handheld swabs to detect traces of prohibited substances in the wear of air passengers to great passenger discomfort and long delays.
The enhancement in security protocols, believe aviation experts, have been necessitated by the recent incidents, including diversion of an Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago to Iqaluit. The flight was threatened with a “bomb” being planted on the aircraft. The call, however, turned out to be a hoax. It raised an alarm about aviation safety.
Group photograph of leaders at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flanking the US President Joe Biden. / Courtesy PhotoIncidentally, this “bomb hoax” was not an isolated incident. Many air carriers in India, operating both on domestic and international sectors, went through an unprecedented series of such “bomb hoax” calls in the last couple of months that impacted several hundred flights putting the air passengers to inconvenience, delays, and anguish. Though the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Bureau of Aviation Security took all the calls seriously, the menace has refused to be effectively controlled even after several weeks. Air India, Indigo and some other Indian carriers have been the worst hit by this “hoax” calls campaign believed to be the brainchild of some disgruntled elements.
Though the Government of India in its latest announcement did not link its decision to any specific incident, the escalations in tensions between the two nations is also believed to be the reason for Canada’s “no risk on air security” policy after what it had undergone in 1985 during one of the worst air disasters of Kanishka.
After the Government of Canada in a diplomatic communique had named six Indian diplomats as “persons of interest” in the recent incidents of assaults on Canadians, the relations have continued to deteriorate with both the nations following “tit for tat” policies. Expulsion of diplomats and accusations have added fuel to the fire.
Some hopes were raised that since both Prime Ministers, Narendra Modi, and Justin Trudeau, would be in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 Summit, a meeting on the side-lines may ease out tensions. Some pictures taken during the summit, especially the group photograph of the participating heads of nations, show the two Prime Ministers exchanging pleasantries. But nothing beyond that.
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