Toronto Police Services closed Billy Bishop Airport and ordered the evacuation of two apartment buildings shortly before 4 p.m. after finding a 'suspicious package' attached to a bicycle at the airport’s mainland ferry terminal.CARLOS OSORIO/Reuters
A bomb scare near Toronto City Billy Bishop Airport disrupted four inbound flights on Saturday afternoon, a typically quiet period for the island airport.
Toronto Police Services closed the airport and ordered the evacuation of two apartment buildings shortly before 4 p.m. after finding a “suspicious package” attached to a bicycle at the airport’s mainland ferry terminal. Police detained and then released two people without charges, and detonated the package.
Brad Cicero, a spokesman for Porter Airlines, said two inbound Dash 8 planes from Montreal were diverted to Hamilton during the shutdown. The airport reopened after midnight and flights resumed on Sunday morning. Saturdays are the quietest days on Porter’s schedule, Mr. Cicero said. Before the airport closed there were a total of 80 flights arriving and or departing.
Two Air Canada flights, from Ottawa and Montreal, were cancelled late on Saturday night, as were the return flights, according to a schedule provided by FlightRadar24, an online tracking service. In total, there were 96 flights in an out of the airport on Saturday,FlightRadar24 spokesman Ian Petchenik.
An Air Canada spokesman did not respond to an e-mail for comment on Monday.
Toronto Police Constable Alex Li said there were no updates on the investigation on Monday afternoon. He declined to comment on speculation the device in question was a battery pack on an electric bicycle.
“Initial tests led [investigators] to believe it may be an explosive device. At that time, a decision was made to evacuate the airport and those in the immediate area as well,” police said in a statement on Sunday. “Police are confident this was an isolated incident and there is no further risk to public safety.”
John Gradek, who teaches aviation leadership at McGill University, said the police and airport officials followed protocols and took the appropriate actions. “Airport shutdowns due to suspicious bags are a fairly regular occurrence, given heightened security sweeps at airports,” Mr. Gradek said. "
The disruption comes after a summer of flight disruptions and congestion at airports across Canada as a surge in travellers met a shortage of employees and COVID-19 protocols.
Eric Atkins