Two people released, no charges laid, after Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport evacuated due to ‘potential explosive device’

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Police say two people who were detained after a suspicious package was found near the ferry terminal of Billy Bishop Airport in downtown Toronto have been released and no charges were laid.

Following an extensive investigation, police are confident this was an isolated incident and there is no further risk to public safety.

Early Sunday, police said they had completed a controlled detonation and nearby residents who were asked to evacuate are now allowed to return. “The area is now safe,” police tweeted.

The discovery prompted the suspension of all operations and the evacuation of nearby buildings.

Flights have resumed Sunday, as the airport tweeted late Saturday.

Police had advised the public to stay away from the area while they detonated the device.

Const. Brabant said 34 Little Norway Crescent and 681 Queen’s Quay West were evacuated by police and paramedics, and there was a partial evacuation of 650 Queen’s Quay West. Shelter buses were in place for them. ”We ended up pulling the fire alarms in all the near by buildings to get people to leave,” she said.

It’s unclear how many residents were displaced.

Police said in a tweet that they were called to the airport at 3:49 p.m., adding that their emergency disposal unit was dispatched to the scene. Roads in the area, including from Strachan Avenue to Dan Leckie Way, have been closed as police investigate.

In a tweet late Saturday evening, Billy Bishop Airport said the police investigation was still under way. The airport said earlier in the evening two Air Canada flights were being diverted to Hamilton and passengers who were still in the terminal were being evacuated.

The airport said a “device was discovered on a bike parked near the island-side ferry terminal.” It later tweeted that the bike has since been removed.

It is unclear what was contained in the package, or whether the package was considered dangerous.

Hamilton International Airport confirmed it had received the two Air Canada flights that had been diverted.

The TTC said it was diverting three streetcar routes. The 509 Harbourfront will be diverting via Spadina Avenue, the 511 Bathurst will be turning back at King Street West and the 504 King will be turning back at Wolseley Street, the transit authority said.

Sudbury, Ont., resident Sydney Hutchins’s flight from Quebec City landed at Billy Bishop at around 4:10 p.m., where she said she was she was told by a flight attendant that passengers would have to stay put while police investigated a suspicious package.

At around 5:20 p.m., she said she saw a SWAT team and police go up to the second floor of the airport, and passengers were ushered downstairs. Some time later, she said she saw police take someone away in handcuffs. ”Before seeing them everyone figured everything was just fine and we were all just more in a hurry to get home,” she said of police. “But actually after seeing them come in, it was a little bit concerning.”

Ms. Hutchins said two water taxis were now travelling back and fourth to bring people back to the mainland, but no cars were able to leave the grounds as the ferry was not running and tunnel was still closed.

As of 8:50 p.m. ET, Ms. Hutchins told The Globe she still hadn’t been evacuated from the airport and was forced to spend more than $400 on a last-minute hotel stay that could accommodate her overnight.

Jean Yoon, who plays family matriarch Umma on Kim’s Convenience, tweeted that she, too, was stuck at Billy Bishop. In a series of tweets, the actor said the water taxis were taking 10 people at a time and were going to try bussing travellers to other access points within the airport. ”This is getting really stupid,” one of her tweets read.

Bob Richardson, whose flight had just touched down at Billy Bishop from Ottawa at around 4 p.m., said he was sitting with other would-be passengers at the airport’s main terminal when he was told he would not be allowed to leave.

“They just blocked people from going down the tunnel,” he said. “These things happen and usually they are false, but it’s good that there are people there to protect you.”

Mr. Richardson said he, alongside around 100 travellers, were all waiting in the airport’s main terminal together for the investigation to wrap up.

An emergency training exercise was held at the airport earlier in the day, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. PortsToronto said there would be “no impact on regular operations” at the airport.

With a report from The Canadian Press.