A Vancouver Island-bound WestJet flight departing the Edmonton International Airport Wednesday afternoon was cancelled due to an incident involving an unruly passenger.

WestJet flight 339 set to depart Edmonton at 4:15 p.m. on May 29 was due to arrive in Comox at 4:51 p.m. For the safety of the guests and crew, the flight was cancelled prior to departure, and subsequently, WestJet flight 338 departing Comox at 5:40 p.m. to Edmonton was also cancelled, confirmed Morgan Bell, a media and public relations advisor for the airline.

鈥淎ll guests were provided re-accommodation options through either Calgary, Vancouver or on today鈥檚 direct flights from Comox and Edmonton,鈥� she explained in an emailed statement.

According to the Edmonton International Airport RCMP, the incident involved a security breach where a male passenger did not wait for authorization to board his flight, and instead ran down the boarding ramp and onto the plane.

In a release, they noted the plane was not occupied by passengers at the time, and the flight crew was onboard in the process of completing their pre-flight briefings.

The man uttered threats to the crew and, fearing for their safety, the flight crew safely removed themselves from the plane.

The man then caused damage to a door on the aircraft before police arrived and took the man into custody without further incident.

The 41-year-old man is in police custody and charges are pending.

erin.haluschak@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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