Passenger arrested after assault aboard Air Canada Express plane, RCMP say

FILE: An Air Canada Express aircraft on approach to land at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on April 11, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)

Authorities are investigating an alleged assault that happened on an Air Canada Express plane during boarding at the Vancouver airport on Tuesday.

The incident unfolded on Flight 8339, which was scheduled to depart for Prince George, B.C., at 8:25 a.m.

The Vancouver International Airport website shows the flight was delayed by approximately 2.5 hours.

In a statement, the RCMP confirmed officers responded to an initial report that multiple airline employees were “assaulted by a passenger on a flight.”

“The individual was safely taken into custody at the scene. The situation is now under investigation,” Cpl. Frank Bryson with the Richmond detachment told CTV News in an email.

Authorities said they could not confirm how many employees were assaulted, or provide any further details on what happened.

Jazz Aviation, which operated the flight, told CTV News it couldn’t comment either due to the RCMP’s active investigation, but that there was a “serious onboard incident” during boarding.

An airport spokesperson said there was no impact to other flights or YVR operations.