A Porter Airlines flight in Canada was cancelled after a child refused to sit down and fasten their seatbelt. The service at Victoria International Airport in British Columbia had left the terminal and was heading for the runway when the incident occurred.
According to the airline, cabin crew and the child’s parent had tried repeatedly to secure the youngster in their seat to no avail. Without the child strapped into their seat, the plane was forced to return to the gate so the parent and child could be removed along with their luggage.
Passengers stranded overnight
Other passengers on the Toronto-bound flight PD444 also had to disembark the aircraft while flight plans were refiled among other paperwork. Passengers were left stranded in British Columbia for the night because the incident delayed the flight past the runway’s closure time at 12.30am, resulting in the flight being cancelled.
Porter Airlines said in a statement that the child, whose age has not been reported, had been ‘standing in their seat’ creating unsafe conditions for take-off.
Airline statement
Brad Cicero, a spokesman for the Toronto-based airline, said: ‘After the aircraft left the terminal and proceeded to the runway for departure, a young child was standing in their seat and would not secure their seatbelt. ‘Attempts by the accompanying parent and crew to address this were unsuccessful. ‘The aircraft could not takeoff in this unsafe condition, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the passengers disembark. ‘We apologise for the effect this had on other passengers, who were able to depart on a flight the following day.’
Passengers speaking to Canadian broadcaster CBC said there was ‘a lot of frustration’ over the situation, with one explaining that the child was acting in fear rather than bad behaviour.
Passenger accounts
Ayreh Kozuch said: ‘They just kept hiding under their seat. If they got forced into being strapped in, they just kind of slid out underneath.’ Another passenger, Hillary Hertzberg, said ‘it took forever’ for the parent and child to leave the plane. ‘The kid eventually got off the plane at 11.30pm, so we had been on the flight for almost an hour at that point.’ She said she wanted the airline to cover the costs for the passengers.
Porter Airlines has not publicly commented on whether it would compensate passengers.
