REGINA – Police boarded an Air Canada plane in Regina on Wednesday morning as part of an emergency plan activated after passengers say a rogue cell phone made its way on board.
Flight AC1156 from Edmonton to Toronto diverted to land at Regina International Airport at 9:25 a.m., just an hour after takeoff. At that point, Regina airport officials enacted emergency response procedures.
“We knew it wasn’t a big deal.” – passenger Brandon Crain
Passengers were never taken off the plane, but Global News got a hold of a couple of them through social media to determine what happened.
“We were told that a cell phone as left at the gate by the strollers and brought on board, thinking someone dropped it,” Brandon Crain explained via direct messages on Twitter. “After no one claimed it, they had to redirect to Regina.”
Crain and Mike Lazenby, another passenger, both said they were told the phone belonged to a ground handler at the Edmonton International Airport.
Both passengers said it was “calm” on board the plane during the wait, with the pilot and flight crew keeping people updated.
“We knew it wasn’t a big deal. Great pilot here to affirm us and inform,” Crain said.
Regardless of the threat level, airport officials said they needed to exercise the “utmost caution.”
“Our job is to make sure we respond swiftly,” said Regina Airport Authority CEO Dick Graham. “(We need to) ensure first responders have access to what they need to execute and do their jobs.”
“I’m very proud that all responders, the airport and the airlines responded the way they did.”
Graham couldn’t confirm why the aircraft had to be diverted, but said it was still “business as usual” for flights departing Regina.
Later Wednesday afternoon, an Air Canada spokesperson confirmed the flight diverted to Regina “strictly out of an abundance of caution due to a security concern after an unclaimed cell phone was located on board.”
In the end, the diversion was less than a 90 minute delay for the 136 passengers flying from Edmonton to Toronto.
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