331 lives, 1 suitcase bomb: Air India flight 182 that never reached London

It was the morning of June 23, 1985. Air India Flight 182 was nearing the final stretch of its journey to London. Families were preparing for holidays, children were asleep in their seats, and crew members were carrying out routine duties aboard the Boeing 747 named Kanishka. But within seconds, everything changed.

A bomb hidden inside a suitcase exploded in the aircraft’s cargo hold over the Atlantic Ocean, causing the jumbo jet to break apart mid-air. All 329 people on board were killed. The aircraft never reached London. 40 years later, the bombing of Air India Flight 182 remains one of the deadliest acts of aviation terrorism in history and the worst terrorist attack ever carried out against Canada.

The moment that changed everything

Air India Flight 182 bombing was a scheduled Air India service operating from Toronto to Mumbai, with stops in Montreal, London and Delhi. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 747-237B, registered VT-EFO and named Emperor Kanishka. On June 23, 1985, it departed Montreal for London carrying 307 passengers and 22 crew members. Most of those on board were Canadian citizens, many of Indian origin.

At approximately 31,000 feet and about 190 kilometres off the coast of Ireland, a bomb concealed inside checked luggage detonated in the forward cargo hold. The explosion caused a rapid decompression and catastrophic structural failure. The aircraft broke apart in mid-air and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean. There was no distress call. No warning. No chance of survival.

All 329 people aboard were killed, but only 131 bodies were later recovered from the sea.

The other bomb that exploded the same day

What many people do not realise is that Flight 182 was only one part of a larger terror plot. Less than an hour before the Kanishka bombing, another suitcase bomb exploded at Japan’s Narita Airport. The device was intended to be loaded onto another Air India flight bound for Bangkok. Instead, it detonated prematurely while baggage was being transferred, killing two baggage handlers.

Had that second bomb reached its intended aircraft, the death toll could have been even higher, as reported in Time Magazine.

Who was behind the attack?

Investigators concluded that the bombing was carried out by extremists linked to the Khalistani militant group Babbar Khalsa. The attack came less than a year after Operation Blue Star, when the Indian Army entered the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar to remove armed militants. The operation triggered anger among sections of the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada, where extremist elements began plotting retaliatory attacks.

Canadian investigators later identified several suspects connected to the conspiracy. However, despite one of the largest terrorism investigations in Canadian history, only Inderjit Singh Reyat was ultimately convicted. Reyat admitted involvement in constructing the bombs and received prison sentences related to the attacks.