Bag containing inert hand grenades shut down Victoria airport
Victoria International Airport reopened late Tuesday after commercial flights were cancelled for much of the day following the discovery of a pair of inert hand grenades and other surplus military gear in a passenger's luggage.
Police are pursuing a charge of mischief against the airline passenger, who has been released from police custody while the investigation continues.
The airport was closed and all commercial flights were cancelled around 1:30 p.m. after baggage scanners saw what appeared to be a pair of hand grenades inside a bag in the airport X-ray machine, RCMP Cpl. Andy Sanchez said Wednesday.
Another bag belonging to the same passenger was discovered in the departures area. Sanchez said that bag could not be scanned so the decision was made to call in the RCMP bomb disposal unit from the Lower Mainland.
Travellers were asked to avoid the airport for several hours while the bomb disposal unit was en route.
At around 8 p.m., the airport issued an update saying the disruption was over and the airport had reopened.
"The call for service is confirmed to have been an incendiary item and inert surplus military supplies contained in checked baggage," the airport statement said.
"We don’t normally see grenades or incendiary devices come through [the airport]," Sanchez said Wednesday. "At this stage police are going to be investigating a charge of mischief."
The RCMP spokesperson said the traveller is not known to police.
Airport operations were expected to return to normal Wednesday, though lingering delays are expected due to the volume of flights that were cancelled and rerouted Tuesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Conservative MPs free to attend 'freedom' protests this summer: Bergen
With the nation's capital bracing for anticipated anti-mandate 'freedom' movement protests during Canada Day weekend, interim Conservative Leader Candice Bergen says her MPs are free to attend.

Biden signs landmark gun measure, says 'lives will be saved'
U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday signed the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise that seemed unimaginable until a recent series of mass shootings, including the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school.
Norway terror alert raised after deadly mass shooting
A gunman opened fire in Oslo's night-life district early Saturday, killing two people and leaving more than 20 wounded in what Norwegian security service called an 'Islamist terror act' during the capital's annual Pride festival.
U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, allowing states to ban abortions
The U.S. Supreme Court has ended the nation's constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years in a decision by its conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade. Friday's outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.
Guns and abortion: Contradictory decisions, or consistent?
They are the most fiercely polarizing issues in American life: abortion and guns. And two momentous decisions by the Supreme Court in two days have done anything but resolve them, firing up debate about whether the court's Conservative justices are being faithful and consistent to history and the Constitution – or citing them to justify political preferences.
'Devastating setback': Trudeau, politicians react to overturning of Roe v. Wade
Canadian politicians are responding to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to end constitutional protections for abortion, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling the news 'horrific.'
Roe v. Wade: These U.S. states are likely to ban abortion
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end constitutional protections for abortion, 26 states are likely to ban abortions; 13 of which are expected to enact bans against the medical procedure immediately.
Russia pushes to block 2nd city in eastern Ukraine
Russian forces were trying to block a city in eastern Ukraine, the region's governor said Saturday, after a relentless assault on a neighboring city forced Ukrainian troops to begin withdrawing after weeks of intense fighting.
Man wanted after four people violently attacked by his dog in Toronto: police
Toronto police say they are looking for a suspect after he and his 100-pound dog allegedly attacked four people overnight.