Passengers on a Air Canada flight headed to St. John earlier this week spent nearly seven hours in the air and were returned to Toronto after "several" landing attempts.

The airline confirmed to CTV News Toronto on Thursday that flight AC698 was en route to Atlantic Canada on February 5 when the pilot encountered "crosswinds" near the airport and ultimately made the decision to turn back.

A company spokesperson said in an email, "This was based on several factors, first, safety is our first consideration and always will be, and this is something that customers completely agree with as well," adding that the harsh winter weather in Atlantic Canada made it difficult to land anywhere else in the region."

According to the flight tracking site FlightAware.com, flight AC698 departed Toronto at 9:43 p.m., on a flight that usually takes just over three hours.

However, the flight record shows that the plane was actually in the air for six hours and 37 minutes and returned to Toronto after doing a number of loops around St. John International Airport in an attempt to land.

Air Canada said the pilot made the "right decision" to return to Toronto and that the airline anticipates weather changes on such flights and prepares accordingly with extra fuel.

Moreover, Air Canada said that for customers on board, many of whom are from Toronto, returning to Pearson Airport was the better option due to the difficulty of finding accommodation late at night.

The airline said, "The primary consideration in this case was maintaining safety at all times."