Man charged with hijacking one day after flights grounded at Vancouver Airport

A man has been charged with hijacking one day after an incident that saw flights grounded at Vancouver’s airport for a little under an hour.

Shaheer Cassim, who was born in 1986, has been charged with one count of hijacking, according to court records online.

On Tuesday afternoon, police arrested a man after a small Cessna 172 plane landed at the airport around 1:45 p.m. PT on Tuesday.

They said that they had received reports around 1 p.m. that the plane had been hijacked from Vancouver Island before entering Vancouver International Airport (YVR) airspace.

No one was injured.

A YVR spokesperson told CBC News on Tuesday that flights were grounded for just under 40 minutes as a result of the alleged hijacking, and nine flights had to be diverted to other airports.

According to the Victoria International Airport, the aircraft is operated by the Victoria Flying Club.

More to come.