Video shows police removing 'disruptive' passenger from Toronto-bound overseas flight

Video has surfaced of the tense moment a passenger on a Toronto-bound international flight was removed by police after the plane was forced to change course due to his “disruptive” behaviour.

In video of the incident obtained by CTV News Toronto, a man on the packed flight from London’s Heathrow airport can be heard screaming as Montreal police officers board the plane during the unplanned stop and escort him off in handcuffs.

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The passenger who shot the video, who asked not to be identified, said the man’s removal came after he was restrained to his seat by flight attendants where he “kicked and screamed” for over an hour.

“I believe he damaged a seat while he was restrained. A passenger that was near him had to be relocated while this occurred for his safety,” she said in an email, adding it’s unclear what led to the passenger’s seemingly erratic behavior.

In a statement issued to CTV News Toronto, a spokesperson for Air Canada, which was operating the flight, confirmed the plane diverted to Montreal Saturday evening “as a safety precaution due to a disruptive passenger.”

“Authorities met the aircraft and, after the individual was deplaned, it carried on to its final destination of Toronto,” the spokesperson said.

Air Canada said there were 381 customers on the Boeing 777 aircraft at the time.

It’s unclear what charges, if any, the removed passenger will face as a result of the incident.

CTV News Toronto has reached out to Montreal police for more information about the passenger’s removal but has not yet received a response.

Montreal police officers remove a passenger who Air Canada said was being disruptive on a nearly eight-hour flight from London's Heathrow airport to Toronto Pearson.