Flight cancelled after rogue child refused to sit down and fasten seatbelt

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A Porter Airlines flight in Canada was cancelled after a child refused to sit down and fasten their seatbelt while the aircraft was preparing for takeoff.

Flight PD444, travelling from Victoria International Airport in British Columbia to Toronto Pearson International Airport, had left the terminal and was taxiing towards the runway on Thursday when the crew decided to return to the gate.

According to Porter Airlines, the child was “standing in their seat and would not secure their seatbelt.” The child’s parent and members of the cabin crew repeatedly attempted to get them safely seated and strapped in, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

Because the aircraft could not take off in what the airline described as an unsafe condition, the crew returned to the terminal. The family was asked to disembark, and their luggage had to be removed from the aircraft.

The other passengers on the 132-seat plane were also required to leave the aircraft while the airline refiled its flight plans and completed the necessary paperwork.

By the time those procedures had been completed, the airport’s runway was due to close at 12:30am, meaning the flight could no longer depart and was ultimately cancelled.

‘A lot of frustration’

It is not clear how old the child was or how many passengers were on board.

Porter Airlines apologised to passengers and said they were rebooked onto a flight the following day.

Passenger Aryeh Kozuch described the atmosphere on board as one of “a lot of frustration.”

Speaking to CBC, he said: “[The child] just kept hiding under their seat. If they got forced into [being] strapped in, they just kind of slid out underneath.”

In a statement, Porter Airlines said: “Attempts by the accompanying parent and crew to address [the child] were unsuccessful.”

The airline added: “The aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the passengers disembark.”

Porter said the time needed to “bridge the aircraft, deplane the passengers in question, retrieve their baggage, refile flight plans and other paperwork” meant it was too late to depart before the scheduled runway closure.

A spokesperson for Victoria International Airport confirmed that the flight had been cancelled because of the airport’s “scheduled airfield closure.”