Russian World Juniors Players Were Escorted Off A Flight From Calgary After A 'Disturbance'

Members of the Russian World Juniors hockey team were removed from a flight leaving Calgary following an incident on board before takeoff.

Calgary Police told CTV that they were called to a "disturbance" on the Air Canada flight at around 5:45 p.m. on Friday, December 31.

The statement adds, "Upon arrival, officers assisted Air Canada staff with keeping the peace and deplaning passengers. Passengers were being asked to deplane due to a disturbance involving multiple passengers in the aircraft cabin."

One passenger claimed in several social media posts that the coach was vaping and that she'd "never seen a flight attendant get so mad."

She later tweeted that the coach was also blasting Russian rock music.

Dr. Kathleen Scherf, a professor at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., was also on the flight.

She posted that members of the team were "trying to smoke cigarettes" and were "not wearing masks."

Also on the flight were members of Team Czechia, who CTV reports were also accidentally removed from the flight because their "sweatshirts look exactly the same as the Russian ones," according to team manager Otakar Cerny.

Following a recommendation by the event's medical committee, the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship was cancelled early on December 29, after just nine matches played, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.