By Mary Agbabiaka
A Porter Airlines flight in Canada was cancelled after a child refused to sit down and fasten their seatbelt, creating unsafe conditions for take-off and forcing the aircraft to return to the gate.
The parent and child were removed from the plane with their luggage, but the disruption meant the flight could not depart as planned.
The incident happened on Thursday at Victoria International Airport in British Columbia, when the Toronto-bound flight was preparing to take off. The aircraft had left the terminal and was heading towards the runway when cabin crew and the child’s parent repeatedly tried to secure the child in their seat.
According to Porter Airlines, the child was standing in their seat and would not remain secured despite several attempts by the parent and crew. The plane was therefore forced to return to the gate so the child and parent could disembark.
The remaining passengers also had to leave the aircraft while the airline refiled its flight plans and completed other paperwork. By the time the process was finished, the delay had pushed the flight beyond the runway’s closure time of 12.30am.
As a result, passengers were left stranded in British Columbia overnight and had to be rebooked on another flight the following day. Porter Airlines apologised for the inconvenience caused.
The airline has not said how old the child was or how many passengers were on the 132-seat aircraft.
Passengers told Canadian broadcaster CBC that there was “a lot of frustration” after the cancellation.
Passenger Aryeh Kozuch said the child did not appear to be behaving badly, but seemed frightened.
“They just kept hiding under their seat,” Kozuch said. “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 disembark and criticised the airline’s communication following the cancellation.
Some passengers were left scrambling to find hotel rooms nearby and said they wanted the airline to compensate them for the additional expenses caused by the disruption.
Vanguard News
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