A police officer monitors travellers at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport on Wednesday afterChristinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Quebec provincial police say one man could face fraud charges after a security incident prompted the deployment of fighter jets to escort two passenger flights into the Montreal airport on Wednesday.
Two Canadian men on Air Canada flights from overseas were arrested in Montreal after the incident prompted the North American Aerospace Defence Command to scramble CF-18s, F-16s and KC-135s, which are aerial refuelling tankers, to accompany them.
Authorities have not confirmed the details of what prompted the response, but one expert says it’s “quite rare” for jets to be deployed to protect commercial airlines.
The Sûreté du Québec had previously said both men, one in his 20s and the other in his 30s, could face charges. But spokesperson Laurie Avoine said Thursday morning that has since been revised.
Both men have been released pending further proceedings, Ms. Avoine said. She added that the investigation was continuing and had not yet been referred to Quebec’s public prosecution service, which would decide whether to lay charges.
A Surete du Quebec police car is seen outside the Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport in Montreal on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne MuschiChristinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Defence Minister David McGuinty confirmed on Thursday that “NORAD jets were scrambled and the matter is under active investigation.” He said it would be up to law enforcement to determine what took place.
In a brief statement, the RCMP said the Quebec provincial police took the lead on the investigation because “there was no nexus to national security.”
NORAD Public Affairs said in a separate statement that the aircraft were deployed to monitor an “air security incident” until the two flights landed at the Montréal-Trudeau International Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
Andrea Charron, director of the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba, said fighter jets can be scrambled if planes signal a hijacking, if a pilot drops out of contact, or if there’s anything unusual or suspicious about the flight pattern, the crew or the passengers.
But she said NORAD is more often involved in responding to Russian provocation, and it’s unusual for the organization to be called upon to escort commercial flights. “It happens very occasionally, but in Canada and the U.S., our airspace is highly regulated,” she said.
During testimony on Thursday before the armed services committee of the U.S. Senate, NORAD Commander Gregory Guillot said the organization conducted 16 intercepts of long-range Russian aircraft inside U.S. and Canadian air defence identification zones in 2025, and four so far this year.
Prof. Charron said NORAD can also intervene when inexperienced pilots of private planes inadvertently veer into no-fly zones.
Some domestic and international flights were delayed out of the Montreal airport on Wednesday after one runway was shut down while police investigated a suitcase on board one flight.
“One of the two runways was closed to ensure the safety of the ongoing investigation, but the other remained operational,” Aéroports de Montréal spokesperson Eric Forest in a statement.
However, that investigation “proved unfounded,” Mr. Forest said, and the runway was reopened around 4:40 p.m.
Air Canada has confirmed that “heightened security measures” at the Montreal airport were related to two flights operated by the airline. It declined to comment further.