Porter Airlines Plane Skids Off Halifax Tarmac Amid Heavy Snowfall

A Porter Airlines flight experienced difficulties after landing at Halifax Stanfield International Airport under severe snow on Wednesday night. The aircraft, arriving from Toronto, skidded off the taxiway shortly after touchdown.

Flight Details

Passenger Samuel Gaboury described the landing as initially successful. However, he noted that the plane began sliding on the runway. “You could feel something was wrong because it was sliding,” Gaboury remarked. The aircraft could not navigate properly and ended up off the designated area.

Response and Passenger Experience

Crews were dispatched to clear a path to the plane but faced challenges. An initial attempt to provide boarding stairs was unsuccessful as they became difficult to maneuver in the icy conditions. Eventually, they managed to get stairs in place, allowing passengers to disembark and board buses heading to the terminal.

• No injuries were reported.
• There were 59 passengers and five crew members on board the flight.
• Passengers waited approximately 2½ hours before being able to leave the aircraft.

Weather Conditions

Gaboury expressed concern regarding the safety of the landing given the extreme weather. He reported nearly zero visibility with heavy snow and strong winds, suggesting that the flight should have been delayed or canceled.

Airport Operations

According to Porter Airlines, the plane became “disabled in snow off of the taxiway” due to poor weather conditions. As a result, the runway was closed for safety measures while the aircraft awaited removal.

Airport spokesperson Tiffany Chase indicated that several flights had faced delays or cancellations because of the storm. Passengers were advised to verify their flight status before heading to the airport.

Porter Airlines is taking steps to investigate the incident and ensure safe operations moving forward.