On Tuesday, an explosive device was discovered in the baggage of a traveler, and as a result, the airport in British Columbia had to be closed for a period of six hours while authorities investigated the situation.
Yesterday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were summoned to the Victoria International Airport in Canada when a suspicious object was found in the baggage of a traveler who was departing the country. An official investigation revealed that the item, which had the appearance of something that might be used to start a fire, was discovered during a routine security check.
It was discovered by employees from the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority at around 1:30 p.m. local time at the departures check-in section of the Victoria International Airport (YYJ). They quickly placed barriers around the area and made a request for assistance from the police.
The item was not a fake gun, according to Andres Sanchez, a spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the Sidney/North Saanich area of British Columbia. In place of it, he stated:
Within the bag was something that seemed to be an explosive or a gadget that might cause a fire. As a result, the police, acting once again out of an excess of caution, closed the airport wing until they could ascertain that the situation was secure enough to let passengers to fly in the future.
What was the reason for the delay?
The suspicious materials were found during routine airport security checks in the check-in area for departing passengers since they had been brought into the airport by a person who was going to be leaving. The x-ray machines detected what seemed to be a pair of inactive hand grenades and other surplus military gear in the passenger’s checked baggage, and they raised a red signal for the security personnel.
After that, police and specialist units from the Lower Mainland were brought in to investigate the item, which caused the facility to be shut down for many hours as the specialized tactical teams traveled from Vancouver to a location several hours to the north. Geoff Dickson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Victoria Airport Authority (VAA), praised the safe handling of the issue as follows:
“As has always been the case, the protection of both our employees and our guests is the first concern, stated. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) reached the conclusion that there was a possible danger to airport workers as well as passengers and ordered that some areas of the air terminal building be evacuated.”
The airport remained closed for the whole duration of the flight.
Due to the shutdown of the airport, roughly twenty of the planned flights that were to take place between the hours of 2:30 and 8:30 p.m. were canceled. Flights that were originally scheduled to land at the airport were redirected to other locations in the area. Later on in the evening, passenger service was resumed after being temporarily suspended.
Later on in the evening, three flights arrived: two on WestJet from Calgary and Vancouver, and one on Air Canada Express from Vancouver. All three flights originated in Vancouver. Simple Flying was informed by a representative from WestJet that all clients who were affected by the stated cancellations were provided with proactive notifications and alternate accommodations. A mischief charge may be filed against the airline passenger, who has been released pending the outcome of the inquiry into the incident being investigated by the local police.
A spokeswoman for Victoria Airport Authority followed by saying, “Throughout the event, we worked completely with the authorities and emergency response teams and any other workers that aided the RCMP.” “Throughout the incident,”
We are grateful to the RCMP, the emergency response teams from YYJ, and our mutual assistance partners in Sidney and North Saanich for their efforts in working together.
The airport, which is responsible for serving the capital of British Columbia, recently became home to a new airline startup called Lynx Air, which began operating flights between Victoria and Calgary International Airport. The service will first run once each week on Thursday and Sunday, and then on June 29 it will add a third weekly frequency, which will be on Wednesdays.
A major renovation and extension was completed not too long ago at the airport that serves Vancouver Island. As a consequence, the length of the taxiway was increased, making it so long that it was partly obscured from view by the air traffic control tower. For a number of months, it was inoperable until the airport was able to install a surveillance system prior to relocating the tower itself.