Porter Airline flight cancelled due to child refusing to fasten seatbelt

Porter Airlines says a flight was cancelled after a child refused to buckle up.

An airline spokesman says in an email that its plane left the terminal in Victoria on Thursday and was headed to the runway for departure to Toronto, but a young child was standing in their seat and would not secure their seatbelt.

The email says attempts by a parent and crew to address the situation were unsuccessful. 

The aircraft could not take off in what Porter called an unsafe situation, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the two passengers disembark.

It says the time needed to bridge the aircraft, deplane the duo, retrieve their baggage, and submit new flight plans and other paperwork meant it was too late to depart, since Victoria's runway closes at 12:30 a.m.

Porter Airlines says the other passengers had to wait for another flight the next day, and it apologizes to those people.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2026.

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