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"Odour" caused Thunder Bay-bound flight to divert to Toronto

A Porter Airlines flight operating to Thunder Bay was forced to divert to Pearson Airport over an unspecified odour in the cabin.

A Porter Airlines flight bound for Thunder Bay was forced to divert back to Toronto on Tuesday, after an odour in the cabin caused concerns.

A Porter representative confirmed Flight PD246, operating from Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto to Thunder Bay diverted to Pearson Airport shortly after takeoff Tuesday evening.

“An odour was apparent in the cabin, so the captain elected to declare an emergency in order to receive priority air traffic control handling and land at the closest available airport,” the spokesperson said.

The airline did not specify what caused the odour or any operational issues identified with the Dash 8 turboprop aircraft.

The flight landed safely without incident, Porter said, and passengers were transferred by bus back to Billy Bishop, where “most, if not all” were able to be accommodated on other flights to Thunder Bay on Tuesday.

According to data from aircraft tracking site FlightAware, PD246 left Billy Bishop at 4:56 p.m. and arrived at Pearson at 5:40 p.m.

The flight appears to have turned back toward Pearson around 5:10 p.m., according to FlightAware data.


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