Passengers ended up stranded overnight after a toddler would not fasten their seatbelt just before a scheduled departure.
The incident happened on Porter Airlines flight PD444, which had been due to fly from Victoria International Airport in British Columbia to Toronto on Thursday (Aug. 6).
At that point, the plane’s doors were already shut and the aircraft had pushed back from the gate.
To everyone on board, it appeared the cross-country flight was about to proceed normally. Instead, the aircraft never took off, and a problem that emerged in the cabin at the last moment meant other passengers were left in Victoria until the next day.
According to Porter Airlines, in comments emailed to CTV News, crew members noticed while the plane was taxiing that a small child was standing on their seat rather than remaining properly strapped in.
The airline said: “A young child was standing in their seat and would not secure their seatbelt”
Cabin crew and the child’s parent both attempted to secure the seatbelt, but neither was able to do so.
Because the flight could not depart safely in that situation, the crew decided to head back.
Porter explained: “The aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the passengers disembark.”
Under different circumstances, the issue may only have caused a delay, but the late hour created a larger setback.
The child and parent then had to get off the plane with their belongings, while airline staff also had to refile the flight plan and handle additional required paperwork.
By the time those steps were completed, it was after 12.30am.