Sexual assault alleged on WestJet flight between Calgary, Halifax

A 20-year-old man is facing a charge of sexual assault after an alleged incident on a Halifax-bound WestJet flight Tuesday night, say Nova Scotia RCMP.

RCMP Cpl. Greg Church confirmed Flight 226 from Calgary landed at 5:47 p.m. AT at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport and officers boarded the plane.

He said the alleged victim is a 69-year-old woman from B.C. The two people were sitting next to each other on the plane, but didn't know each other, said Church.

The man, who is from Nova Scotia, was arrested and released on a promise to appear in court on Oct. 21.

"At some point during the flight, a member of our crew was notified of an incident involving a male guest and a female guest," Robert Palmer, a spokesperson for WestJet, said in a statement Wednesday.

"The male guest was moved to another seat on the aircraft and RCMP was contacted to meet the flight in Halifax."

Palmer said the flight had 132 passengers and five crew members on board. The airline said they are still waiting for reports from the crew about the incident.

The charge of sexual assault has not yet been sworn in court, and the identity of the accused has not been released.