Extra screening measures for travellers to India have been lifted, minister’s office says

The extra screening measures imposed earlier this week on people travelling to India have now been lifted, says the office of Transport Minister Anita Anand.

On Monday, Anand said in a news statement that, “out of an abundance of caution,” her ministry would temporarily implement additional security screening for travellers to India.

A government official told CBC News the additional measures would be conducted by the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), the agency responsible for screening passengers and their baggage before they enter restricted areas in airports.

The official spoke on background because they weren’t authorized to share the details publicly. 

Last month, an Air India flight from New Delhi to Chicago was diverted to Iqaluit because of a bomb scare. No bomb was found on board.

Air India plane on Iqaluit Airport tarmac.
The Air India flight made an emergency landing in Iqaluit around 5:20 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2024. (Carl-Eric Cardinal/CBC)

Anand’s announcement on Monday came a month after the RCMP linked agents of the Indian government to widespread crimes in Canada, including acts of murder, extortion and intimidation.

Canada expelled six Indian diplomats in October on the same day RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme spoke of “well over a dozen” credible and imminent threats to members of the South Asian community, specifically Sikh members of the pro-Khalistan movement.

India has strongly denied the RCMP’s allegations and quickly retaliated against the federal government by ordering six Canadian diplomats to leave the country.

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