An incident at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) on Tuesday afternoon grounded some flights and closed the airspace temporarily.
In a statement, Vancouver airport officials said, “Shortly before 1:30 p.m. this afternoon, a security incident involving a small private aircraft in the airspace near YVR prompted a temporary ground stop for arriving aircraft. RCMP responded, the aircraft landed safely, and the lone occupant was taken into custody.
“During the 39-minute ground stop for arrivals, nine inbound aircraft were diverted to alternate airports. Airlines, YVR, and our partners are working to support getting those passengers to their destinations.”
Richmond RCMP said they initially received a report at 1:10 p.m. that a Cessna 172, a small passenger aircraft, had been hijacked from the Vancouver Island area and was entering into airspace near YVR. The suspect was the lone occupant on board.
Richmond RCMP, along with the Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service, the Lower Mainland Integrated Emergency Response Team, and RCMP Air Services, were immediately deployed.
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A message about the hijacking was sent to other pilots in the area.
The plane circled above YVR for about 20 minutes before landing.
RCMP confirmed that at 1:45 p.m., the plane safely landed at YVR and Richmond RCMP officers arrested the suspect without incident.
One passenger shared video of the incident, showing police cars and officers approaching a small aircraft on one of the runways.
“Operations seem back to normal,” the passenger shared on X.
“But the small plane was chased on the runway by the police cars. When it stopped, the pilot came out walking backwards and was holding on the ground by the police. The plane is still in the taxi way surrounded by police cars.”
Matthew Brosseau was on a plane at YVR and second in line to take off when they suddenly stopped.
“And then the pilot comes on the intercom and he said, ‘Unfortunately, we’re going to be stuck here a little bit because there is an ultralight aircraft not communicating with the tower and we have to wait because they’ve closed the airspace,” he told Global News.
Brosseau said they were delayed by about 25 minutes.
“I think that’s crazy,” he said about what happened.
“I think if you’re a pilot and you’re in an ultralight or any kind of plane, communicating with the tower is like the most important thing. So it’s crazy to me.”
The Vancouver airport website showed a number of delays for arrivals and departures.
According to the statement from YVR, however, normal flight operations have resumed.
“Flights are now operating normally in and out of YVR,” the statement read, “however, some flight delays are possible and passengers should check directly with their airline or at yvr.ca before coming to the airport.”
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