A Canadian airline canceled a flight from Victoria to Toronto after a child refused to fasten their seatbelt. The incident occurred on August 6, when the Porter Airlines flight was taxiing to the runway and the child stood on a seat. Efforts by both the accompanying adult and flight attendants to persuade the child to sit down were unsuccessful.
According to a Porter Airlines representative, the crew had to return to the gate and asked two passengers to leave the aircraft, as the plane could not take off under such unsafe conditions. Brad Cicero, a spokesperson for the airline, said all passengers had to deplane because removing just those two and redoing the boarding process would have prevented the aircraft from taking off before the airport closed at 12:30 a.m.
Cicero apologized for the disruption to other passengers, who were rebooked on flights the following day. Passenger Aryeh Kozuch told the Canadian Press that the child was not being disruptive, and that online criticism of the parents did not reflect the situation accurately. "The child kept hiding under the seat. If forced to buckle up, the child would slip back down," he said.
Another passenger, Hillary Hertzberg, felt the airline handled the situation too slowly, leaving passengers seated on the plane for nearly an hour before the child was taken off at 11:30 p.m. Porter Airlines confirmed that all passengers were rebooked on alternative flights the next day.
