Travelers planning a flight to Victoria International Airport (YYJ) on Tuesday are being warned of travel disruptions due to police activity.
The Sydney / North Saanich RCMP says the airport was closed after a suspicious package was discovered around 1:30 p.m.
Cpl. Andrés Sánchez, of the Sydney / North Saanich RCMP, says the airport was closed to all inbound and outbound flights “as a precaution”.
He said the airport will remain closed until police “can make sure it is safe for the public to travel.”
“FIRE DEVICE”
“Package was in checkout / checkout [area]so he was carried by a passenger, “Sanchez said Tuesday afternoon.
The package was marked by Canadian Air Transport Safety Authority (CATSA) staff who detected what appeared to be an “incendiary device” inside a bag, he said.
“CATSA employees did the checks that are normally done in a departure situation at the airport,” he said.
“They scanned the bag and found that there were items inside that could be dangerous in nature and at that time police were called to the scene to investigate further,” he said.
Teams say a specialized RCMP team has been called in from the mainland to remove the bag from the facility and “ensure that the package is handled safely”.
PASSENGER IN RESEARCH
Sanchez says the person who carried the bag is under investigation, but it is unclear whether criminal charges will still be recommended.
“Again, because we don’t know what’s in that bag, we can’t talk about it anymore,” he said.
Meanwhile, people are being asked to avoid the airport in the next few hours, according to RCMP spokesman Sergeant. Chris Manseau.
At around 4.20pm, the airport said that all scheduled commercial flights for the next two hours had been canceled.
The airport is working with airlines to keep them up to date on flight status.
Police say they expect the airport to reopen Tuesday night, but it is unknown how long it will take for the property to be investigated.
According to the airport, travelers should check the YYJ website for the latest updates on their flights.