A Porter Airlines flight from British Columbia to Toronto was canceled after a child refused to buckle their seatbelt before takeoff. While preparing for departure, the crew noticed the child standing in their seat and despite attempts by the parent and crew to resolve the situation, they could not secure the child. Consequently, the aircraft returned to the terminal and passengers disembarked. Due to the time required to handle the situation and the airport's runway closure at 12:30 a.m., the flight could not depart. The airline apologized and arranged a new flight for affected passengers the next day.

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Travel|Flight Is Canceled After a Child Refuses to Be Seated

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https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/09/travel/flight-canceled-child-seatbelt-porter-canada.html

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A flight from British Columbia to Toronto was canceled on Thursday after a child would not sit down and buckle a seatbelt before takeoff, the airline said.

Porter Airlines flight PD444 had left the terminal at Victoria International Airport in British Columbia and was headed for the runway when crew members saw a young child who was “standing in their seat and would not secure their seatbelt,” the airline said in a statement.

“Attempts by the accompanying parent and crew to address this were unsuccessful,” according to the company, which did not provide the age of the child.

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

The time required “to bridge the aircraft, deplane the passengers in question, retrieve their baggage, refile flight plans and other paperwork meant that it was too late to depart” because the airport’s runway closes at 12:30 a.m., the statement said.

A spokeswoman for the airport confirmed that the flight was canceled because of the airport’s “scheduled airfield closure.”

It was not clear how many passengers were affected. The plane has 132 seats, according to an airline spokesman.

“We apologize for the effect this had on other passengers, who were able to depart on a flight the following day,” the company added.

The new flight departed from Victoria International Airport at 10:49 p.m. local time on Friday and arrived in Toronto at 6:16 a.m. local time on Saturday, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks flights.

Johnny Diaz is a reporter for The Times covering breaking news from Miami.

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Flight Is Canceled After a Child Refuses to Be Seated

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