Canadian police on Tuesday were investigating after an Air India flight turned back to Toronto after reports of a suspicious package.

"At approximately 11 p.m. last night, our officers responded in regards to an Air India flight that had a suspicious object on board," Peel Police Sgt. Derek Rice said. "We're still investigating to identify what the package is."

Baggage was being screened again on the flight, which was bound for Birmingham, UK.

Canadian media said the pilot radioed a request to return to Toronto about an hour into the flight.

Last week, a Dubai-bound Air India flight was diverted to a military air base due to an erroneous alert issued by the Indian aviation authorities.

In 1985, Air India Flight 182 was destroyed in a bomb attack during a flight from Canada to India, killing 329 people in history's deadliest bombing of a passenger airliner. A near simultaneous attack on a second Air India flight killed two Tokyo airport workers.