A plane headed for Alberta had to make an emergency stop in Regina on Wednesday evening.
James Bogusz, CEO of the Regina Airport Authority, said the flight was travelling from London, Ont. to Edmonton when it was forced to land in Regina. Bogusz said the aircraft, a Boeing 737 operated by Swoop, made the emergency call to the Regina airport around 11:20 p.m. over concerns of smoke in the aircraft.
In a written statement to CTV News, Swoop said the smoke was from a cigarette from "an undetermined source in the cabin."
"The aircraft landed without incident and all travellers were safely offloaded," the statement said. "Swoop is currently working with authorities and select travellers were interviewed given smoking is illegal on any aircraft. Swoop will continue to work with authorities as the investigation continues."
Emergency crews responded and all passengers and crew were able to disembark the aircraft safely shortly before midnight.
James Beardsley, who was on board, said he was travelling to Edmonton to catch a charter to his job in northern Alberta. He missed his connection and won't be able to catch another charter for at least four days. He said he plans to look into compensation for any lost salary, and said the airline has offered reimbursement for hotels and meals.
The passengers were told Swoop will charter a flight from WestJet to fly them to Edmonton at 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
"Swoop apologizes for any inconvenience and we are committed to getting our travellers to their destination as quickly and as safely as possible," the airline said.
