On August 6, 2026, Porter Airlines cancelled Flight PD444 from Victoria International Airport to Toronto Pearson International Airport after a toddler passenger repeatedly refused to remain seated and buckled during taxiing. The flight was taxiing toward the runway when cabin crew observed the child standing on their seat without a secured seatbelt.
Canadian federal regulations enforced by Transport Canada require all passengers to be properly secured before takeoff. The toddler’s refusal to comply despite repeated attempts by both cabin crew and the child’s parent meant the flight could not safely depart. Victoria International Airport enforces an overnight curfew starting at
12:30 a.m. to minimize noise disruptions, which the delay caused by the incident forced the plane to exceed.
The aircraft returned to the terminal to allow the child and parent to disembark, pushing the departure past the curfew and forcing the cancellation of the overnight flight. As a result, passengers were stranded in Victoria overnight and rebooked on a flight that departed approximately 12 hours later the next morning. Porter operates six weekly flights between Victoria and Toronto, excluding Saturdays, making this cancellation a notable disruption for same-day travellers.
Passengers reported that the process to disembark the child took close
to an hour while the aircraft remained on the ground. Complaints were also raised about limited communication from Porter Airlines following the cancellation, leaving many passengers to arrange their own overnight accommodations. When approached, Porter did not confirm whether compensation was provided for the unplanned expenses of stranded travellers.
Porter Airlines confirmed the cancellation was a necessary safety precaution in line with standard protocols. The airline apologized to passengers for the disruption and emphasized that cabin crew strictly adhered to federal safety rules throughout the incident. The airline’s policies commit to federal standards for delays and cancellations due to safety
concerns, which may include meal vouchers and rebooking, although no confirmation was made about specific measures in this case.
Incidents involving young children unable or unwilling to remain buckled are a recognized challenge across the airline industry. Canada’s Transport Canada mandates that all passengers, irrespective of age, must be properly seated and restrained before an aircraft can safely take off. Airports like Victoria International with strict overnight curfews provide little leeway for handling in-flight or pre-departure disruptions that delay schedules.
