According to WestJet’s Twitter account, the airline diverted another plane Wednesday night, but believe this latest threat is a hoax.Matthew Sherwood/The Globe and Mail
Moments after WestJet flight 323 landed at the Saskatoon airport Tuesday night, the plane's captain took to the intercom.
He told the 113 passengers that the plane was the subject of a bomb threat and authorities had ordered them to stay on the runway and away from the terminal, passenger Depesh Parmar recalled Wednesday evening.
Remarkably, passengers remained calm as they waited for about 20 minutes to exit the plane, which had travelled from Toronto. It was the fourth threat against a Canadian passenger jet in less than a week.
While passengers didn't appear frenzied, many were worried, Mr. Parmar said. He kept thinking, "Is this really happening?"
"I just wanted to get off the plane as quickly as possible," said Mr. Parmar, 32, executive director of Ideas Inc. in Saskatoon. "I was fairly surprised that people held it together."
He credits the crew for keeping passengers informed and calm.
No explosive device was found on the plane, said Saskatoon Police Staff Sergeant Ryan Smith. Passengers were searched and interviewed. The police service's explosive disposal unit cleared the aircraft around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday and turned it over to WestJet.
The police investigation is continuing, along with probes of threats involving an Air Canada flight in St. John's last Thursday and two other WestJet flights – one that was diverted to Saskatoon on Saturday and one that was diverted to Winnipeg on Monday.
According to WestJet's Twitter account, the airline diverted another plane Wednesday night, but believe this latest threat is a hoax.
It isn't yet known whether the earlier incidents are connected. Six passengers were injured in the evacuation of the flight that landed in Winnipeg.
Air Canada declined to comment Wednesday, saying it does not "discuss matters of security or our security procedures."
In an e-mail, WestJet spokesman Robert Palmer said the incidents involving the airline are in the hands of police.
"All three are active criminal investigations and we are working closely with investigators to find those responsible," Mr. Palmer said.
Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said in an e-mail that the safety of Canadians is a top priority and that airlines and airports have protocols in place for dealing with these sorts of threats.
"Threats made to aircraft are violations of the Criminal Code of Canada and those found responsible will face the full force of the law," Ms. Raitt warned.
Mr. Parmar plans to fly again, but the string of threats concerns him. He hopes investigators solve these cases soon and airports examine whether security needs to be enhanced.