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Hundreds of WestJet passengers were re-screened and several flights delayed after firecrackers were found on a plane arriving from Comox, B.C. yesterday afternoon.

Dale Tinevez, vice-president of airport operations for WestJet, said flight crews conducting their regular cleaning and security inspection of an aircraft arriving from Comox, B.C., found the explosive devices.

«The security folks came down and inspected the aircraft,» he said.

Though it was determined that there was no risk to passengers, WestJet requested that between 100 and 1,000 outbound passengers who had already been cleared be screened again as a precaution, Tinevez said.

Most flights were only slightly delayed, but the Comox flight's aircraft was delayed for two hours, Tinevez said.

Though he didn't know how the firecrackers wound up on the plane, Tinevez said the airline's response to the incident shows how seriously it takes security breaches.

«We're pretty diligent on that side of it,» he said.

Don Tom, 24, was heading home to Victoria on a WestJet flight from Winnipeg and was one of the passengers who had to return to security and stand in 30 to 40 minute lineups.

«It's ridiculous, it's my third time being scanned today,» he said.

Transport Canada is investigating the incident, said spokeswoman Susan McLennan.

«Transport Canada takes incidents of this nature very seriously,» she said, adding it's working with officials from Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, which is in charge of security screening.

In July, 500 cleared passengers were re-screened after a multitool, which included a knife blade, was detected at the airport that was allowed on a flight to Ottawa.

A man had mistakenly packed the tool in his carry-on baggage and was not charged.