Members of the Russian team competing in the World Junior Championships were kicked off a flight scheduled to depart from Calgary on Friday night.
Police confirmed the information to the CTV Network in Calgary.
According to some people on social media that they were on the plane at the time, the Russian coach was accused of violating airline regulations before taking off.
Teams from Chechnya and Russia were removed from the plane for violating sanitation measures. Very strict rules, ”Russian coach Sergei Zhubov told the Russian newspaper Izvestia.
Ian Kenny, a passenger on a business class flight, claimed that a Russian officer sitting next to him was wading in the cabin and refused to cover his mouth and nose. Flight attendants repeatedly tried to force him to obey the rules, but the man refused.
“He is playing Russian rock music on his phone. They kept trying to shut it down, but it didn’t happen. I think they drank a little too much, ”Kenny said of Russian officials.
“He’s definitely someone who knows how to get on a plane.”
The Russian team, Kenny said, was sitting in the back in economy class. At one point, another Russian man stepped forward and hugged the disturbing passenger.
Kenny said at least five police officers from Calgary boarded the plane and assured all passengers that they would have to get off the plane. He said the troubled passenger had joined the Russian players in the departure area where at least five other officers were waiting.
According to Kenny, the plane took off three hours late without the Russian team. He believes the Czech team also had to stay in Calgary, but the Finnish team was able to get back on board.
Calgary police said in a statement that its airport unit officials responded to a call that arrived at 5:45 pm Friday regarding the interruption of an Air Canada flight.
“Upon arrival, the authorities assisted the Air Canada crew in keeping the situation under control and unloading the passengers. The statement said passengers were asked to disembark due to the disruption involving several people in the aircraft cabin. After a while, most of the passengers boarded back and the plane took off. “
The statement did not say who was behind the disturbances or whether anyone had been arrested. Police did not respond to further questions about the incident on Saturday.
Due to this situation the flight was very late, its destination was Frankfurt, Germany.
Also according to CTV, the Canada Border Services Agency is now responsible for the investigation.
COVID-19 forcibly canceled World Juniors on December 29, remembering that the event had already started for three days.
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