Flight that left Toronto landed safely after threat, case now ‘an active criminal investigation’
A third WestJet flight was targeted by a threat this week, but Saskatoon police have determined there were no explosives on Flight 323 from Toronto to Saskatoon.
Flight 323 landed safely at the John Diefenbaker airport in the Saskatchewan city on Tuesday night after receiving the bomb threat at about 7 p.m. CT. All 113 passengers and five crew members were able to leave the aircraft safely using the stairs. They were then boarded onto a bus.
Police said the investigation is continuing. There have been no arrests.
Robert Palmer with Calgary-based WestJet said in a statement to CBC News: “We understand and appreciate the interest in the story. We’ve said all we can say at this point and will leave matters in the hands of police as it is now an active criminal investigation.”
Passengers and crew were interviewed and debriefed by Saskatoon police members, according to police spokeswoman Kelsie Fraser.
There has been a recent rash of threats for WestJet and Air Canada:
On Saturday, a flight from Halifax to Edmonton was diverted to Saskatoon after receiving a bomb threat. No explosives were found that time either, but the incident created flight delays in Saskatoon.
Six passengers were injured during an emergency evacuation of a WestJet flight in Winnipeg on Monday. The Boeing 737-700 was about an hour and a half into its flight from Edmonton to Toronto when it made its emergency landing due to an unspecified threat. Passengers eventually arrived in Toronto on Tuesday.
A bomb threat was found on a note on an Air Canada flight on June 25. The threat caused the St. John’s International Airport in Newfoundland to temporarily close.