Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Canadian Flight Cancelled After Child Refuses Seatbelt; Kerala Man Held
Two scary things happened on airplanes this week.
In Canada, a young child stood up on their seat on a Porter Airlines plane and would not put on the seatbelt.
The flight crew and the child's parent both tried to buckle the child in, but they could not.
Because it is not safe to fly with someone standing up, the pilot brought the plane back to the terminal.
The child and their parent had to get off the plane.
By the time they left, the airport runway was closed for the night.
So everyone else on that flight had to sleep in Victoria and take a plane the next day.
On another flight, a man on a Batik Air plane tried to open the emergency exit door while the plane was coming down to land.
Other passengers and the crew stopped him and held him until the plane landed safely.
Both incidents caused big disruptions and delays for everyone on board.
Porter Airlines flight PD444 from Victoria, BC, to Toronto was cancelled Thursday (Aug 6) after a young child stood on a seat and refused to wear a seatbelt.
The aircraft had left the terminal at Victoria International Airport when crew noticed the child standing; crew and the parent could not buckle the child, so the child and parent were deboarded.
Because the runway closed at 12:30 am local time, passengers were forced to spend the night in Victoria; Porter Airlines apologized and said they could depart Friday.
On Wednesday night (Aug 5), 34-year-old Jamshir Athanikkal of Kootanad, Palakkad district, Kerala, allegedly struck an emergency exit window and tried to open the exit door on a Batik Air flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kochi.
Athanikkal allegedly threatened crew and passengers who intervened and was overpowered and restrained until the aircraft landed safely at Cochin International Airport around 11:30 pm.
- Who
- A young child and their parent on Porter Airlines flight PD444, and Jamshir Athanikkal, a 34-year-old resident of Kootanad in Kerala's Palakkad district, on a Batik Air flight.
- What
- A Porter Airlines flight was cancelled because a child stood on a seat and refused a seatbelt, and separately a Batik Air passenger allegedly attempted to open an emergency exit during landing.
- When
- Thursday, Aug 6, for the Porter Airlines cancellation; Wednesday night, Aug 5, for the Batik Air incident.
- Where
- Victoria International Airport in Victoria, BC, Canada, and a Batik Air flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kochi landing at Cochin International Airport.
- Why
- The Porter flight could not take off because the child standing in the seat was an unsafe condition; the Batik Air passenger allegedly tried to open the emergency exit and threatened those who intervened.
- Airline (cancelled flight)
- Porter Airlines
- Flight number
- PD444
- Route
- Victoria, BC to Toronto
- Runway closure
- 12:30 am local time
- Airline (second incident)
- Batik Air
- Route (second incident)
- Kuala Lumpur to Kochi
- Suspect
- Jamshir Athanikkal, 34, of Kootanad, Palakkad district, Kerala
- Landing (second incident)
- Cochin International Airport, around 11:30 pm