Canada Plane 'Hijacked': Vancouver Airport Grounds Flights Suspect Arrested

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Canada's Vancouver airport grounded flights on Tuesday following report of small plane Cessna 172 'hijacked', officials said.

The travel at the airport was stopped temporarily.

Vancouver International Airport mentioned that nine incoming flights were redirected during the incident, as a temporary suspension of operations was implemented across the airport in the West Coast city.

“Shortly before 1:30 p.m. this afternoon, a security incident involving a small private aircraft in the airspace near YVR prompted a temporary ground stop for arriving aircraft. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) responded, the aircraft landed safely, and the lone occupant was taken into custody,” Vancouver airport officials said, as per reports,

“During the 39-minute ground stop for arrivals, nine inbound aircraft were diverted to alternate airports. Airlines, YVR, and our partners are working to support getting those passengers to their destinations," officials added.

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RCMP in the western Canadian province of British Columbia stated that at 1:10 pm (2010 GMT) they got to know about Cessna 172 "had been hijacked from the Vancouver Island area and was entering into airspace near Vancouver International Airport."

"The suspect was the sole occupant of the aircraft," they said in a statement.

According to RCMP, the plane arrived in Vancouver at 1:45 pm (2045 GMT) and the“suspect was arrested without incident”.

The public broadcaster CBC released photos showing a small white Cessna encircled by security vehicles on a runway following its landing in Vancouver .

The aircraft was operated by a flying club based in Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, located on Vancouver Island, the CBC reported.

One passenger posted a video of the incident, where police cars and officers were seen coming near to a small aircraft on one of the runways.

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“Operations seem back to normal,” the passenger mentioned on X.

“But the small plane was chased on the runway by the police cars. When it stopped, the pilot came out walking backwards and was holding on the ground by the police. The plane is still in the taxi way surrounded by police cars.”

Matthew Brosseau was aboard the plane at YVR and second in line to take off when they abruptly ceased. He said the plane was delayed by nearly 25 minutes.

“And then the pilot comes on the intercom and he said, 'Unfortunately, we're going to be stuck here a little bit because there is an ultralight aircraft not communicating with the tower and we have to wait because they've closed the airspace,” Global News quoted him as saying.

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