A Vancouver Island-bound WestJet flight departing the Edmonton International Airport Wednesday afternoon was cancelled due to an incident involving an unruly passenger.
WestJet flight 339 set to depart Edmonton at 4:15 p.m. on May 29 was due to arrive in Comox at 4:51 p.m. For the safety of the guests and crew, the flight was cancelled prior to departure, and subsequently, WestJet flight 338 departing Comox at 5:40 p.m. to Edmonton was also cancelled, confirmed Morgan Bell, a media and public relations advisor for the airline.
“All guests were provided re-accommodation options through either Calgary, Vancouver or on today’s direct flights from Comox and Edmonton,” she explained in an emailed statement.
According to the Edmonton International Airport RCMP, the incident involved a security breach where a male passenger did not wait for authorization to board his flight, and instead ran down the boarding ramp and onto the plane.
In a release, they noted the plane was not occupied by passengers at the time, and the flight crew was onboard in the process of completing their pre-flight briefings.
The man uttered threats to the crew and, fearing for their safety, the flight crew safely removed themselves from the plane.
The man then caused damage to a door on the aircraft before police arrived and took the man into custody without further incident.
The 41-year-old man is in police custody and charges are pending.
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