The Vancouver International Airport and Air Canada have launched investigations after passengers arriving from Beijing were able to enter the country without clearing customs.

A YVR spokesperson said “a number of passengers” onboard an Air Canada flight arriving from China shortly before noon Sunday were accidentally misdirected into the domestic terminal at YVR, meaning they skipped going through the customs area.

“YVR is reviewing its internal procedures and continues to work with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the airline,” a YVR spokesperson said in an email to CTV Vancouver.

In a statement issued Monday afternoon, the CBSA said “immediate steps were taken” to make sure passengers went through the necessary passport and customs checks.

“The CBSA is now working with the airline and the YVRAA to investigate circumstances and to identify any passengers who may have inadvertently evaded routine process,” the agency said.

Air Canada is calling the breach an “inadvertent error,” but has not said how many passengers managed to bypass being screened by border agents.

“As soon as this inadvertent error was noticed, passengers disembarking were then directed directly to Canada Customs per the normal process,” said Air Canada’s Angela Mah, adding that the “vast majority” of misdirected passengers were located and then cleared customs.

These official accounts conflict somewhat with the experience described to CTV News by Crystal Friesen, who was a passenger on the flight.

She said the door to the international arrivals area was closed when passengers got off the flight, and the door to the domestic area was open. Essentially, the whole flight was ushered into the domestic terminal baggage claim area, and officials only redirected them after she brought the mistake to their attention, she said.

“When I walked out of there, I looked to my right and there was Starbucks at Gate D49 and I thought, ‘something’s not right here,’” Friesen said.

Anyone flying without checked bags could have ended up walking right out of the airport without speaking to the CBSA, she said. “If I didn’t have checked baggage, I just would have kept on walking.”

Richmond RCMP officers were brought in to help YVR and CBSA to track down the passengers, but some still managed to get into the public area of the airport, according to Cpl. Dennis Hwang.

“Some passengers that had not been properly screened entered the public area of the airport. Inter-agency coordination resulted in locating a majority of the unscreened passengers,” Cpl. Dennis Hwang said in a statement given to CTV Vancouver.

Airlines can be fined for misdirecting passengers.

Do you know anyone who was on the incoming Beijing flight? Please email bconline@ctv.ca