Swoop flight hits geese on takeoff forcing emergency landing at Abbotsford airport

A Swoop airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Abbotsford International Airport after a bird strike Tuesday morning.

Passengers and crew loaded off plane safely, spokesperson says

CBC News · Posted: Sep 10, 2019 1:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 10, 2019

Passengers of Swoop Airlines say the company didn't do enough to communicate with them or help them after a cancelled flight from Cancun to Hamilton. (Tara Walton/The Canadian Press)

A Swoop airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing at Abbotsford International Airport after hitting several geese shortly after takeoff Tuesday morning.

Flight 312 left for Edmonton at 8:18 a.m. PT and landed back at the airport 10 minutes later after hitting the birds, according to the airport's general manager.

The crew and 176 passengers were safely escorted off the 737 Boeing jet and led back to the terminal. No one was hurt.

"Thank you to our captain and crew for ensuring the safety of our travellers," a spokesperson for Swoop wrote in a tweet just before 10:15 a.m. PT.

A statement from the airline said staff are working on recommending travel options for people who were onboard the plane. Swoop is a low-cost subsidiary of WestJet.

A bystander on a nearby road caught the plane coming in for landing