Submitted. At approximately 0930hrs this morning at Abbotsford International Airport (YYX) a contractor conducting road work in-front of the terminal building struck and ruptured a natural gas line.
Coincidentally, YXX staff along with a number of other agencies were already gathered at the airport to conduct an emergency training exercise so the response to this incident was immediate.
The agencies involved were able to establish a unified command and the terminal building was evacuated and the area isolated.
An inbound Westjet flight was held on the taxiway for approximately 20 minutes while the incident was brought under control. The Westjet flight was successfully brought in and deplaned and was able to get back on schedule.
All operations have returned to normal at YXX and the planned exercise is proceeding.