"Refused to Fasten Seatbelt": Flight in Canada Turned Back After Child Refuses to Be Seated

Flight Canceled Due to Runway Closure Time
Porter Airlines Assists with Rebooking on Next-Day Flight

In Canada, a flight was canceled after a child passenger refused to sit down and fasten their seatbelt on a commercial airplane.

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According to the Associated Press (AP) on August 10 (local time), a Porter Airlines flight bound for Toronto was taxiing out of Victoria International Airport in British Columbia when crew members noticed a child standing on the seat and refusing to wear a seatbelt.

Both the guardian and the crew attempted to get the child seated and buckled in, but were unsuccessful. Determining that takeoff was not possible without the child wearing a seatbelt, the airline decided to return the aircraft to the terminal and instructed all passengers to disembark.

The child and guardian were removed from the aircraft and their luggage was retrieved. Additional time was then needed to reprocess the flight schedule and documentation. Porter Airlines flight PD444 had been scheduled to depart at 10:30 p.m. on August 6.

Because the runway at Victoria International Airport closes at 12:30 a.m., the flight was ultimately canceled. The airline stated, "The scheduled runway closure was the reason for the flight cancellation," and apologized for the impact this had on other passengers.

The identities of the child passenger and accompanying parent were not released. The aircraft had 132 seats. Passengers were able to reach their destination on a subsequent flight the next day.

According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, the replacement flight departed Victoria International Airport at 10:49 p.m. on August 7 and arrived in Toronto at 6:16 a.m. on August 8, roughly 24 hours later.

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