What happened
On 22 March 2024, a runway conflict occurred at Toronto/Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Ontario. A Boeing 787-10 operated by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was holding short of Runway 06L, awaiting departure. At the same time, a Boeing 787-9 operated by LOT Polish Airlines was in the process of landing on the same runway.
Following the arrival of the LOT Polish Airlines flight, air traffic control (ATC) instructed the KLM aircraft to line up on Runway 06L and prepared the crew for an immediate departure. As the LOT Polish Airlines aircraft appeared to be vacating the runway via Taxiway C5, ATC issued takeoff clearance to the departing KLM flight.
However, the LOT Polish Airlines aircraft did not exit via C5 as anticipated, but instead utilized the adjacent Taxiway C7. This unexpected movement necessitated an immediate instruction from ATC for the KLM aircraft to abort its takeoff. The departing aircraft reached a speed of roughly 100 knots before the crew decelerated and brought the plane to a halt, approximately 5400 feet from the position of the KLM aircraft.