OTTAWA  An evacuation flight chartered by the government of Canada made it into Tripoli, the Libyan capital, on Friday morning, but after its crew was unable to find any Canadians at the chaotic airport, the airplane left empty.

The plane, operated by a Toronto-based company that specializes in flying in conflict zones, was the first Canadian rescue flight to reach Libya after several false starts this week. Other than citing the general confusion at the airport, Peter MacKay, the defense minister, did not explain why no one from any other country boarded the plane when he disclosed the development in brief remarks to reporters.

The aviation company, SkyLink, referred all questions about the unsuccessful flight to the government.