VANCOUVER - Passengers aboard a trans-Pacific flight bound for Vancouver were alarmed, fascinated and confused as they looked out their windows and saw their aircraft being escorted by military fighter jets Saturday.
The Cathay Pacific flight, which originated in Hong Kong, was the subject of a bomb threat RCMP said they had taken "very seriously."
But for those aboard, the presence of the CF18 Hornet jets was an ominous mystery that eventually led to hours spent hours waiting for luggage that won't come until Sunday.
Passenger Deepika Vaswani of Mumbai said she saw a fighter jet over the wing by her seat and one of her teenaged sons told her it was an F18.
Her son, Bhavesh Vaswani, 16, said seeing the fighter jets was "pretty cool at first."
"When we got down it was a little scary when we found out it was a bomb threat."
Vaswani said passengers were given water and granola bars while they waited six hours for their luggage inside the airport.
"First we were told there was a problem with the conveyor belt and then they told us it was a bomb threat."
A woman who referred to herself only as Mrs. Cheung said passengers aboard the plane began taking pictures of the two fighter jets as they flew beside the plane, but nobody knew why they were there.
"I have been waiting at the airport for three to four hours because I cannot claim my baggage," she said through a Mandarin translator.
"The people from the airport just told me there are some safety issues."
Cheung said passengers were told they could return to the airport on Sunday to collect their luggage if they wished to leave.
Kevin Yip, who was in the airport's arrivals area, said he waited for his friends for three hours while the plane sat on the tarmac.
He said the family of four is moving to Canada from Malaysia and their first day on Canadian soil is not a good one.
"They're starting their lives here in Canada," Yip said. "It's terrible. It's not a way to land in your new country."
The RCMP said the flight's 283 passengers were safely taken off the plane and no one was injured.
The flight originated in Hong Kong and after RCMP received the threat Saturday morning, the fighter jets acting under the North American Aerospace Defence Command intercepted the plane.
The fighters have the ability to respond to security threats with measures including lethal force if necessary. They flew alongside the passenger jet until it landed safely around 1:40 local time, said NORAD's Major Holly Apostoliuk.
She said the jets arrived quickly from their base in Comox, B.C., but did not land with flight CX838 and have since returned to Comox.
RCMP Cpl. Sherrdean Turley said the RCMP's Richmond detachment learned about the threat on the plane shortly before 11 a.m. PST.
"The threat is being taken very seriously and I'd like to assure the travelling public that there is no threat to them at this time," she said.
"All necessary screening procedures were carried out and it was deemed that there was no threat aboard the aircraft."
Turley said she could not discuss whether any group has taken responsibility for the threat and said the investigation into the incident is still underway.
A statement issued by Cathay Pacific hours after the incident said the airline was not aware of any issues arising on board the aircraft itself.
"A security issue raised on the ground in Vancouver resulted in extra security for the aircraft inbound to the airport and upon arrival," the airline said.
The airline said it was appreciative of the extreme precaution exerted by Canadian authorities.
"It is very heartening to know that Canada — and Vancouver in particular — is so well prepared to handle a real crisis should one occur in the future."
Vancouver airport spokeswoman Alisa Gloag said the aircraft's passengers and 14 crew safely left the plane soon after it landed. She could not, however, say what happened to them once they were on the ground.
Gloag said the situation has been resolved from an airport perspective without causing any delays to other flights.
"We are business as usual, the airport is fully operation," she said. "Everything is running smoothly."
The Cathay Pacific Airbus A340 has now been taken to an area of the airport that is away from the terminal building for investigation.
This was interesting because at the party at the house yesterday afternoon we all saw the three planes fly by and wondered what was happening now we know.
I walked to where I leave Ramona parked and brought her back here to the house to get her ready for my road trip on Tuesday.
I then watched a great hockey game between the Sharks and the Blackhawks.
Later in the afternoon I went to watch a base ball game. Heather and Kirby’s middle son Alex is an aspiring major league ball player.
Here is Alex coming in to pitch one innings of relief and did well and his team won with an exciting last hit run.
A quiet night tonight as I get ready for two intense days of soccer reffing. Qualicum, a small town about 40 minutes up Island, is hosting the Island Provincial High school girls soccer playoffs and I am officiating three games tomorrow and then three on Tuesday. The skill level will be quite high and I look forward to these games.
Want to say Hi to Sara and hope you had a good day off and maybe even Steve was able to fix the Satellite????
