Geoffrey Wall, a former Air Canada pilot, is facing formal fraud charges over allegations that he flew tens of thousands of passengers for almost 17 years without a valid licence.

According to reports, Mr Wall completed over 900 domestic and international flights as a captain between 2009 and 2025 without obtaining the proper licence or completing mandatory testing.

Authorities noted that he made more than $2 million in salary during the period.

The suspect was reportedly caught last year after a routine examination of his credentials showed “anomalies” in his licence documentation, prompting the airline to refer the matter to regulatory authorities.

“This investigation and the details surrounding it read like a movie script. (Wall) rose to the position of pilot in command, where for almost 17 years they flew Boeing 767s, 777, and 787s,” the police said in a news conference in Ontario.

Police noted that although Mr Wall held a licence to operate as a commercial pilot throughout his 27 years of employment with Air Canada, he failed to obtain the additional certification required to earn the Airline Transport Pilot Licence for Aeroplanes, which was mandatory when he was promoted to the rank of captain in 2009.

“This is very similar to a doctor who is licensed to practice family medicine but is doing brain surgery in their office. There are additional requirements and regulations to professional designations that exist for a reason.

“We believe the accused misrepresented his qualifications to both his employer and the regulator,” the police stated.

Mr Wall has since been fined by Transport Canada. He has also been indicted on seven criminal charges, including fraud over $5,000, two counts of uttering forged documents, and three counts of possession of a counterfeit mark.

He is set to be arraigned on June 29.

In a statement on Monday, Air Canada maintained that Mr Wall’s actions did not compromise its operational safety, citing that all pilots are regularly reevaluated every six months, but acknowledged the importance of proper certifications.

The airline said, “Safety was not compromised by this incident because all pilots at Air Canada undergo mandatory recurrent training every six months to validate their flying competency, including a flight check with a certified Transport Canada check-pilot every 12 months.

“However, appropriate licensing is an essential layer of the airline industry’s multi-layered approach to safety, so Air Canada takes this matter with utmost seriousness.”