2 men were arrested at Montreal airport after a mysterious incident caused flight delays

Quebec provincial police say a man arrested at the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport could face fraud charges following an incident that caused flight delays on Wednesday afternoon.

Police initially said two men, one in his 20s and one in his 30s, had been arrested on flights that landed in Montreal.

But on Thursday, Sgt. Laurie Avoine said only one of them could face charges at a later date.

Air Canada confirmed on Thursday that both men were on flights operated by the airline.

“The flights landed safely and our operations have returned to normal,” the airline said in a statement. “As this is a security matter, we are unable to comment further and refer you to local authorities.”

The investigation was handled by the Sûreté du Québec, who patrol the airport. In an email, the RCMP’s Quebec branch said they were not involved as “there was no nexus to national security.”

A spokesperson for Norad said that CF-18 and F-16 fighter jets and KC-135 refuelling aircraft in undisclosed locations were monitoring a situation involving two commercial airplanes on Wednesday until they landed in Montreal.

Norad did not specify what triggered the alert.

Airport spokesman Eric Forest said officials temporarily closed a runway at the airport but operations returned to normal at around 6 p.m.

Quebec’s Crown prosecutor’s office said Thursday it had no public information on the matter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 19, 2026.