A Canadian traveller in Cancun, Mexico, set to return home on Christmas Eve, was told last-minute by Sunwing Airlines that his flight had been delayed until Dec. 27, leaving him and dozens of other passengers stranded at the airport with nowhere to go.
Noah Calberry, of Brantford, says he flew back to Toronto on Sunday on an Air Transat flight that he booked himself after Sunwing refused to communicate with passengers who were stranded in Cancun, leaving them unsure if or when their flights would be rescheduled.
“We found out our flight was delayed and the Sunwing officials kept basically lying to us saying ‘the pilot’s tired and we're still waiting for staffing issues on the flight.’ We were probably stuck in that spot for over three or four hours,” Calberry said.
“And eventually the two Sunwing representatives just ended up walking away completely leaving everyone just wondering what to do. There were tons of Mexican police officers just standing there, they weren't doing anything and they were refusing food and water. It just felt like inhumane treatment from a place where you're supposed to feel safe like in the airport.”
Calberry took a video of the scene at the Cancun International Airport, which showed dozens of people crowding the Sunwing information desk attempting to get information about their flights.
In an emailed statement to CP24, Sunwing said they “sincerely regret the impact to our customers’ travel plans over the busy holiday period.”
“As a result of severe winter weather in recent days across key Canadian gateways, which has limited our ability to move planes and crew to other airports, a number of northbound return flights continue to be impacted by delays. Our teams are working hard to reaccommodate customers by subservicing aircraft where possible, in addition to arranging alternate hotels and transfers for those with overnight delays,” the statement reads.
“Our teams locally and in destination continue to proactively manage the situation, and are doing everything possible to return customers home in the coming days. We deeply apologize for delays during the holiday season, and thank our customers for their understanding while we work to overcome operational challenges brought on by severe winter weather across key regions in Canada.”
On the night his initial flight was delayed, Calberry said he, along with his girlfriend and dozens of others including young children and elderly people, slept on the floor of the airport and received little to no communication from the airline about the status of their flights.
Other stranded Canadian passengers reported being shuffled between hotels by Sunwing, but paying for their own transportation to get there. Some said they arrived at one hotel, only to have no rooms available since they weren’t expecting them.
“They've said nothing. They've said nothing at all,” Calberry said.
“They keep delaying the flights for other people. I know people who've been there since [Dec. 21] and still aren't home. There's an option online to go to try and file for compensation but conveniently, it's been closed since Dec. 18 due to site maintenance, so you can't even you can't even file for compensation from the flight.”
Calberry said he will try to get Sunwing to compensate him for his delayed flight, and that he and others are looking into filing a class-action lawsuit against the airline.
Calberry also said he understands that flights can be impacted by inclement weather, but added that he believes the issue had more to do with the airline’s poor planning and communication about his flight cancellation.
“I don't feel like it was weather related at all anymore because flights going to Toronto with other companies; they were able to take off and fly. I think this is just something on the airline whether it's poor planning or not enough flights or staff, but there's no answer for it and it's just ridiculous. So many people spent extra money or time or just even the toll that it takes on mental health, it's awful,” he said.
With files from the Canadian Press.
