Porter Airlines cancelled Flight PD444 on August 6, 2026, after a toddler onboard refused to remain seated and buckle their seatbelt during taxiing from Victoria International Airport to Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Flight PD444 had already begun taxiing toward the runway when cabin crew and the child’s parent tried multiple times to seat and secure the toddler. Their efforts failed, resulting in the aircraft returning to the terminal to remove the child and parent before departure.
Victoria International Airport enforces a strict overnight runway curfew starting at 12:30 a.m. The delay caused by returning to the gate and disembarking the
child pushed Flight PD444’s departure beyond the allowable window, forcing the airline to cancel the flight for that night.
Passengers were left stranded in Victoria overnight, as the flight was unable to proceed to Toronto as scheduled. Flight PD444 departed the following morning, approximately twelve hours behind the original timetable. Porter Airlines operates six weekly flights on the Victoria to Toronto route excluding Saturdays.
Porter Airlines issued an apology to affected passengers and confirmed that the cancellation was a necessary safety measure. The airline described the child’s refusal to remain properly seated and buckled as a genuine safety issue that
made aborting the departure the only viable option. Passengers were rebooked on the delayed next-day flight.
Some passengers criticized Porter Airlines for limited communication and inadequate assistance arranging overnight accommodations during the delay. One passenger noted that the child disembarked around 11:30 p.m., nearly an hour after the aircraft had been grounded, reflecting the extended removal process.
The incident was specific to Flight PD444 and did not impact other Porter flights. The airline’s spokesperson confirmed no wider operational disruptions resulted from the situation.
Child compliance with seatbelt regulations poses ongoing challenges for airlines, as all passengers must be properly secured
prior to takeoff under federal aviation safety rules. In airports with strict overnight operating curfews like Victoria International, delays from in-cabin incidents can escalate quickly into cancellations once the curfew time passes.
