Porter Airlines flight PD444 from Victoria, British Columbia to Toronto was cancelled on August 6 after a young child refused to sit properly and fasten their seatbelt, standing up in their seat instead. Attempts by both the child's parent and flight crew to secure the child were unsuccessful, leading the aircraft to return to the terminal. All passengers disembarked as the crew deemed conditions unsafe for takeoff [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12].

The flight could not depart before the Victoria International Airport runway closed at 00:30 local time, forcing the airline to cancel the flight and rebook passengers on a flight the following day. The plane had 132 seats, but the number of passengers affected was unclear [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12].

Passenger accounts varied. Some online expressed support for the crew’s decision citing safety concerns, while others questioned suspending the entire flight for one child. One passenger recalled the child was frightened, hiding under their seat rather than acting unruly: "They just kept hiding under their seat. If they got forced into [being] strapped in, they just kind of slid out underneath. This was a child that was in a tube with 150 people… They’re obviously terrified," said Aryeh Kozuch [1, 3]. Another passenger said the situation delayed the flight nearly an hour: "It took forever. The kid eventually got off the plane at 11:30 so we had been on the flight for almost an hour at that point," Hillary Hertzberg said [3].

Child aviation safety expert Lia Tuso noted that "unrestrained children can become projectiles, similar to unrestrained items of luggage, which can fly into passengers in turbulence especially during takeoff and landing," emphasizing the safety risk [1]. Fox News co-host Charles Hurt commented, "We've all been those parents, but this is beyond the pale," highlighting public frustration with the disruption [1].

Porter Airlines apologized for the inconvenience caused and confirmed affected passengers were rebooked. The replacement flight departed Victoria International Airport at 22:49 local time on August 7 and arrived in Toronto at 06:16 on August 8 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]. Porter spokesperson Brad Cicero said, "We apologise for the effect this had on other passengers, who were able to depart on a flight the following day" [3].