Vancouver Airport Temporarily Halts Flights Amid Security Incident

‘Rogue’ Cessna 172 departed from the Canadian facility before circling near Vancouver for over half an hour.

Caleb Revill

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 04:27 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Cessna 172 [Credit: Cessna]

Key Takeaways:

Vancouver International Airport (YVR) temporarily grounded arriving flights for 39 minutes due to a security incident involving a small private aircraft.
The incident involved a stolen Cessna 172 that had taken off from YVR and was circling about 40 miles north of the airport.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) responded, leading to the aircraft landing safely at YVR and the lone occupant being arrested.
The temporary ground stop resulted in several dozen flight delays and the diversion of eight flights, though most were able to land at YVR later.

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The Vancouver International Airport (CYVR) temporarily grounded all flights for arriving aircraft after a small private aircraft taking off began circling about 40 miles north.

The Canadian airport notified the public of a security incident that took place on Tuesday in a news release. While the facility didn’t specify what occurred, it did state that the Royal Canadian Mountain Police (RCMP) responded and arrivals were halted for 39 minutes.