Passenger says toddler shouldn’t be blamed for grounding Porter flight

What initially appeared to be a case of an unruly passenger aboard a recent Porter Airlines flight from Victoria to Toronto turned out to be something far less conventional: a frightened toddler who simply would not buckle up.

Passenger Aryeh Kozuch, 26, was aboard the overnight flight last Thursday (Aug. 6) when the unusual seatbelt standoff unfolded, ultimately preventing the aircraft from taking off and leaving passengers stranded in Victoria overnight.

Kozuch, who has taken the red-eye flight roughly a dozen times, said everything initially seemed routine, speaking to the Canadian Press.

He was closing his eyes and preparing for takeoff when he noticed flight attendants making their way toward the back of the aircraft.

Then came an announcement over the PA reminding passengers that they were legally required to follow crew instructions.

About five minutes later, the message became more urgent: passengers had 60 seconds to comply with flight attendants’ instructions or the aircraft would return to the gate.

“At this point, it’s like, ‘Oh, something is wrong,’” Kozuch told CP.

His first assumption was that an adult passenger was refusing to cooperate. Instead, a flight attendant eventually explained that the holdup involved a young child who was squirming in their seat, sliding underneath the seat in front and refusing to be buckled in.

“I’m not gonna lie, I never even considered the idea that it was gonna be an unruly toddler,” Kozuch told the outlet. “I thought it was an unruly adult.”

The airline said the child’s parent and crew members attempted to buckle the youngster in, but were ultimately unsuccessful.

With aviation safety rules leaving little room for negotiation — even with a determined toddler — the flight crew turned the aircraft around.

With the child unable to be safely secured, Porter determined the aircraft could not take off.  “The aircraft could not take off in this unsafe condition, so the crew elected to return to the terminal and have the passengers disembark,” Porter said.

The plane returned to the terminal, where the toddler and a parent deboarded with their luggage and stroller.

But by then, the clock was working against everyone else onboard.

Porter said the time required to bridge the aircraft, deplane the parent and child, retrieve their baggage and submit new flight plans pushed the departure beyond Victoria International Airport’s 12:30 a.m. runway closure.

As previously reported, the flight was cancelled and the remaining passengers were left scrambling for overnight arrangements before being accommodated on another flight the following day.

Porter apologized “for the effect this had on other passengers” and confirmed they would be able to depart the following day.

Kozuch said the first person to provide passengers with information or advice after the cancellation was a baggage handler. Flight attendants he spoke with also told him they had never encountered a situation quite like it despite decades of experience.

“Kids refuse this all the time, and eventually, they always comply,” Kozuch said. “At least, that’s what they assumed would happen.”

While the unusual incident quickly generated criticism online, Kozuch said characterizations of the child as “bratty,” or suggestions that the parents should have done more, failed to capture what he witnessed onboard.

“They’re obviously terrified, and their response was to try and hide under the seat in front of them,” he told the outlet.

“That’s so different than a kid running around and screaming.”

Kozuch also defended the parents, saying he would not have expected them to physically force an already distressed toddler into the seat while surrounded by watching passengers.

Porter has apologized to travellers affected by the cancellation. Kozuch ultimately made it onto another Victoria-Toronto flight the following day, though not before hauling six months’ worth of luggage off the cancelled aircraft and finding a friend whose couch he could sleep on at 2:30 a.m.

He told CP he had not received any communication about compensation from Porter.

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