TORONTO – A passenger aboard the Porter Airlines flight to Toronto that was cancelled last week after a toddler refused to buckle up says the child was scared and should not be blamed.
The aircraft could not take off from Victoria in what Porter called an unsafe situation, so the crew decided to return to the terminal and have the child and a parent get off the plane.
Porter says the time needed to bridge the aircraft, deplane the duo, retrieve their baggage, and submit new flight plans meant it was too late to depart, since Victoria’s runway closes at 12:30 a.m.
Passenger Aryeh Kozuch says the child was not being unruly and seemed very scared.
He says other passengers were frustrated, but he didn’t expect the child’s parents to physically force them into their seat.
Porter says other passengers had to wait for another flight the next day, and it apologizes to those people.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2026.
