Air Canada passengers delayed after 1 plane hits another on tarmac at YVR
Passengers on board two Air Canada flights at Vancouver International Airport were delayed Sunday afternoon after the planes they were on came into contact on the tarmac.
In an email, the airline said the incident happened while an Air Canada Rouge Airbus A319 was being pushed back from the gate.
The Airbus's wingtip "made contact" with a Jazz Air Canada Express Q400 plane that was parked at a nearby gate, the airline said.
No one was injured, Air Canada said, and customers are scheduled to fly to their final destinations on other flights later today.
The plane that was hit at Vancouver International Airport Sunday afternoon was a Q400 like this one. (Air Canada)
Passenger Sylvie Barma was on board the Airbus at around 2 p.m. PT, returning home to Quebec, when the incident happened.
"We were shaken by a rather strong blow," Barma said from the airport, where she was waiting for her rescheduled flight. "We were worried for a few moments."
Barma said when she looked outside, she saw a piece of her plane's wing on the ground. And when the planes were moved about 20 minutes later, she saw a piece of the Q400's wing fall to the ground.
"We still got great service," Barma said, adding that the pilot communicated what was happening. "The situation was well managed."
Air Canada scheduled another plane to take the passengers to Quebec by 8:15 p.m. PT Sunday night, she said.
The airline didn't say how many passengers were affected, but the Q400 seats about 75 passengers and the Airbus A319 seats between 120 and 156 passengers.
YVR confirmed that its fire and rescue team responded to the incident Sunday afternoon, and no one was injured.
On Friday, the airport said it was expecting 316,000 travellers over the long weekend.
