A bag containing an item similar to an “incendiary device” closed all commercial flights to and from Victoria International Airport on Tuesday afternoon, according to the RCMP.
The package was found in a bag carried by a passenger at check-out, prompting Mounties to respond at the airport shortly after 1:30 p.m., according to a spokesman for the Sydney / North Saanich RCMP. , Cpl. Andrés Sánchez.
When officials from the Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority scanned the bag, they realized that “there were items inside that could be dangerous in nature,” Sanchez said.
Police believe the bag contained an item that looked like an incendiary device, prompting the Victoria Airport Authority to close all incoming and outgoing commercial flights, publicly announcing the closure shortly before 3 p.m. : 30.
Addressing the nearly two-hour gap between the discovery and the announcement of the airport’s closure, Sanchez said “there was a wide margin because we didn’t know what the article was at first.”
The RCMP made the decision to inform the airport that it should close after consulting with an explosives disposal unit, he said.
The person who carried the bag is currently under investigation and authorities are determining whether there are any charges.
The airport is expected to remain closed on commercial flights for several more hours while an explosive unit heads from the Lower Mainland to investigate the object.
“As a precaution, we want to make sure the bag is safe before starting any incoming or ongoing flight,” Sanchez said.
The RCMP said that despite the discovery, there was no public safety concern at the airport, where many people still stayed for hours after the discovery, wondering what was going on with their flights.
The arrivals area remained open for public access, where people used the area to contact their airlines about the details of the trip.
Many passengers arriving at the airport did not find out about their canceled flights until they arrived.
“We just got here and there are cops everywhere, it’s a little intimidating to get up for the first time, but it was definitely a weird scene,” traveler Russ Kelly told CHEK News.
“We’ve heard from a couple of people who might have been like a few bombs in a backpack or something, a guy, a mentally ill person tried to get on a flight, but yes.”
The Victoria Airport Authority said around 4.30pm that it “continued to cooperate fully with the RCMP” while officers responded and was working with airlines to determine the status of the flights.
“Flights scheduled for the next 2-3 hours can be confirmed as canceled,” the authority confirmed. The airport arrivals and departures page showed several canceled and delayed flights.
The list of departures has just been updated to #YYJ. A mix of delays and cancellations. pic.twitter.com/iEvMzbYPbG
– Joe Perkins (@JoePerkinsCHEK) May 24, 2022
The Flight Aware flight tracking website showed that at least one scheduled flight to land in Victoria, Air Canada Jazz Flight 8489 from Calgary, had been diverted to Vancouver.
Passengers planning to leave the airport were urged to first check the status of their flight with their carrier or on the YYJ website.
⚠️1 / 2RCMP is answering the YYJ service call. The airport is closed to commercial flights. We ask passengers not to come to the airport at this time and please check the status of your flight with your carrier or our website. #yyj #yyjops
– Victoria International Airport (@Fly_YYJ) May 24, 2022
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