Why Canadian Air Force was used to ferry Air India passengers from icy Iqaluit

As the Air India flight landed in Iqaluit, the Canadian authorities had an immediate crisis in hand - the city is not equipped to house so many passengers. The military eventually had to step in to ferry the passengers.

In Short

• Chicago-bound Air India flight diverted to Iqaluit after bomb threat
• The Arctic city of Iqaluit has 7,000-odd residents
• The airport is equipped to handle turboprop aircraft used for medium-range flights

Around 5.20 am on Tuesday, residents of the quaint and remote Arctic city of Iqaluit in Canada were woken up by the roaring sound of an aircraft. It was unlike anything the 7,000-odd residents of Iqaluit might have heard or seen as a Chicago-bound Air India flight (AI 127) made an emergency landing at its deserted airport following a bomb threat, which later turned out to be a hoax.

For 17 hours, 211 people, including 20 crew members, were stranded in the Iqaluit International Airport as temperatures outside dropped to -3 degrees Celcius. The Canadian authorities had an immediate crisis in hand -- Iqaluit is not equipped to house so many passengers. The military had to eventually step in to ferry the stranded passengers to Chicago.

"Despite great efforts, the city of Iqaluit is not equipped to house these passengers," Canadian minister Harjit Sajjan tweeted after Air India's Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft landed at the airport.

HOW CANADA HANDLED THE CRISIS AT IQALUIT AIRPORT

Constructed during World War II by the United States, the airport was part of a network of Arctic airfields used for ferrying supplies across the North Atlantic. After the war, it became a civilian airport and is the lifeline of the 7,000-odd residents as Iqaluit has no road or ship connectivity to other parts of the country.

For much of the year, food and essential supplies are flown in. It remains mostly closed during winters, when temperatures in Iqaluit regularly drop below -50 degrees.

On Tuesday, dozens of pizzas were delivered to Air India passengers as they put up inside the small airport terminal. The city is so remote that there is no free Wi-Fi and barely any cell signal.

To ease the pressure on Iqaluit, the Canadian authorities rushed a Canadian Air Force aircraft to ferry the passengers to Chicago.

The military aircraft landed in Chicago with the 211 passengers at around 7.50 hrs UTC (1.18 pm IST). Their checked-in baggage was transported on the Air India aircraft.

The airport, which has a single runway, is typically equipped to handle turboprop aircraft used for short-haul and medium-range flights. However, it has handled passenger aircraft like the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A350 during such emergency situations in the past.

In fact, Iqaluit, due to its extreme weather, has become a popular destination for aircraft manufacturers to conduct cold-weather testing.

THE GATEWAY TO THE CANADIAN ARCTIC

Iqaluit, the northernmost city of Canada, shot to prominence in 1995 after it was chosen in a referendum to become the capital of Nunavut.

The city is mostly populated by the northern indigenous people known as Inuit. The referendum gave the Inuit in the region self-rule and control over their institutions.

Due to its remote location, supplies have to be airlifted, increasing the cost of living. In Iqaluit, two litres of milk can cost around C$6.50 (nearly Rs 400) and a bottle of Coca-Cola goes for $10 (Rs 610), according to a report in The Guardian.