Flight to Toronto cancelled over child standing on seat: Porter Airlines

A flight bound for Toronto was cancelled Thursday evening after a young child refused to secure their seatbelt, Porter Airlines has said.

Flight PD444 from Victoria International Airport in B.C. to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport did not take off as a safety precaution, a spokesperson for Porter Airlines told CBC Toronto in a statement Saturday.

The aircraft left the terminal and headed to the runway for departure but a young child standing in their seat did not secure their seatbelt, despite attempts by the accompanying parent and cabin crew, Brad Cicero said.

The unsafe situation meant the aircraft could not takeoff, so flight attendants opted to return to the terminal and disembark passengers, he added.

The time required to bridge the aircraft, deplane the child and parent, retrieve their baggage and refile paperwork meant the plane would have departed too late, according to Cicero, who said Victoria’s airport runway closes at 12:30 a.m.

“We apologize for the effect this had on other passengers, who were able to depart on a flight the following day,” Cicero said.

The aircraft departed the following afternoon, Cicero said.