Canadian Forces fighter jets escorted an airliner to Vancouver International Airport on Saturday afternoon following a bomb threat, Defence Department officials said.
Two armed CF-18 Hornets escorted Cathay Pacific flight 838, bound for Vancouver from Hong Kong, to the airport in Richmond, B.C. It landed safely at about 1:30 p.m. PT.
Passengers immediately disembarked from the plane but were held in customs for more than two hours and had to leave without their baggage.
The RCMP later determined there was no threat but continued to investigate the incident.
"There was a bomb threat aboard an incoming flight from Hong Kong," said Jay Paxton, a spokesperson for Defence Minister Peter MacKay. "We scrambled two CF-18s, one Buffalo and one Cormorant out of [CFB] Comox. The CF-18s escorted the aircraft to Vancouver and it landed without incident."
They did not land with the aircraft and have since returned to their base.
Officials said the jets responded quickly from their base on Vancouver Island once information of the potential threat was received. The fighter jets are authorized to respond to security threats with measures including lethal force.
With files from The Canadian PressCBC News - British Columbia - CF-18s respond to airline bomb threat