Runway Safety Incidents Growing in Canada, but Close Calls Plateau

An Air Canada flight departing for Toronto, bottom, taxis to a runway as a Westjet flight bound for Palm Springs takes off at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian PressSafety incidents on Canadian runways have risen to unprecedented heights in recent years, even as the number of extremely close calls appears to be stabilizing, new government data shows.Canadian runway incursions—when an aircraft, vehicle, or person is on or near a runway and shouldn’t be—reached a 15-year high of 639 in 2024, according to a report by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). Numbers have yet to be compiled for 2025.