A Flight To Toronto This Morning Made A Quick Turn To Steer Clear From Ukrainian Airspace

One flight heading toward Toronto had to make a quick detour to get out of Ukrainian airspace on Thursday morning.

According to Flightradar24, an air traffic tracker that looks at flight paths in real time, the Dreamliner plane "exited Ukraine airspace shortly after entering en route from Tel Aviv to Toronto."

This particular El Al Israel Airlines flight usually travels over the far-western region of Ukraine, but instead made an abrupt turn shortly after entering Ukrainian airspace and went through Hungary and Slovakia instead.

The flight still landed at its destination, but based on Toronto Pearson's arrivals site, it touched down almost 45 minutes after its expected arrival time.

Passengers onboard the flight told CityNews Toronto that they weren't aware of the detour.

"They didn't say anything on the plane, they just took a different route," one passenger told the outlet after landing. "When I came off and looked at the news I knew what had happened."

On Thursday, February 24, Russia launched a "full-scale invasion" of Ukraine with President Vladimir Putin ordering troops to cross the Ukrainian border.

Explosions have already been reported throughout the region, including in the country's capital of Kyiv, the Associated Press reports.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already condemned the attack in the "strongest possible terms," and said that these "unprovoked actions are a clear further violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"In the face of these attacks on Ukraine, Canada will take additional action to stop Russia's unwarranted aggression. We continue to stand with Ukraine, its people, and the Ukrainian Canadian community here in Canada. Russia's brazen acts will not go unpunished," Trudeau said.

Narcity reached out to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority for additional comments about the flight but did not immediately hear back before this article was published.

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