Unsecured child leads to cancellation of Victoria-Toronto flight

Porter Airlines cancelled a Thursday flight from Victoria to Toronto after a young child could not be secured with a seatbelt, the airline says.

Flight PD444 had left the terminal at Victoria International Airport and was heading toward the runway when crew members saw the child standing in the seat. The parent and cabin crew tried unsuccessfully to fasten the seatbelt.

The aircraft returned to the terminal and passengers disembarked because it could not take off in that condition. Removing the child and parent, handling baggage, refiling flight plans and completing paperwork took the operation beyond 12:30 a.m., when the YYJ runway closes for the night.

The remaining passengers had to stay in Victoria until Friday. Porter apologized for the disruption and said passengers would be able to depart Friday.