TORONTO - She wasn't enduring the flight delay from hell and had no intentions of leaving on a jet plane, so police said she had to leave.
An unidentified woman believed to be in her 40s was given bus fare and asked to vacate Toronto's Pearson International Airport on Wednesday morning after staff told police she had been sleeping there for about a month.
"They alerted us to the fact there was a person that they realized they had noticed way back, even at Easter, as being around the terminal a lot and thought she might be living there," said Peel Regional Police Const. Marlene Murphy.
The woman, who was lugging around a suitcase, didn't appear to have any mental issues and left the airport without incident.
"I don't know if she was happy there -- I mean, it is a lovely place -- but certainly she didn't cause a fuss or any trouble. It's just that people can't stay there unless they're travelling through," Murphy said.
It's not unheard of to get reports of people sleeping in the airport for extended periods of time, said Trish Krale, a spokeswoman for the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.
"It's a rare occurrence but it does happen from time to time," she said.
And because the airport never closes, it's not unusual for people to be seen walking around -- or catching a quick nap -- overnight.
"It wouldn't be unusual to see people here through the night."
