A western Manitoba household spent the final eight months planning a Christmas journey to sunny Puerto Vallarta, however that journey was postponed after which cancelled by the airline, leaving them in limbo in a Winnipeg airport lodge over the vacations.
The household of 9 — some from Brandon, some from Onanole, Man., — checked right into a lodge by the Winnipeg airport on Christmas Eve, planning on flying out on a Sunwing flight early the subsequent day, however they did not obtain any discover their flights had been postponed repeatedly over the subsequent few days.
“It is like we did not even exist,” mentioned Bev Towler, who organized the journey for her household.
“It is only a huge, large disappointment. We have all been unhappy at totally different occasions … We’re not okay as a result of they did not care about us.”
Jenn Dudman, Towler’s daughter-in-law, says their flight was rescheduled for 4 a.m. on Boxing Day, so that they went to the airport in the course of the evening to examine in and board, together with what she estimates had been 200 others.
“All of us stood there till 1:30 a.m. till a safety guard requested what we had been doing and we mentioned, ‘Properly, we fly out at 4 with Sunwing’ and he mentioned, ‘You guys do not have a flight,'” Dudman mentioned.
That flight was delayed till 4 a.m. on Tuesday, when it was lastly cancelled completely. They determined to forego the journey altogether.
Over the previous few days, Dudman says there was just about no communication with the airline.
“I attempted calling Sunwing to speak to a consultant and the cellphone would simply disconnect. You would not e-mail them, nothing. We went to the airport and tried to speak to someone, there was nobody on the airport,” she mentioned.
Whereas they had been ready, the household felt as if they had been in limbo within the lodge, with only a few companies and companies open throughout the holidays, and with little or no winter clothes of their possession.
A western Manitoba household spent the final eight months planning a Christmas journey to sunny Puerto Vallarta, however that journey was postponed after which cancelled by the airline.
Caught in Cancun
Whereas their household was caught within the lodge in Winnipeg, a whole lot of Canadians have been stranded in Mexico for days after their flights had been cancelled as storms batter components of the nation in addition to the U.S.
Tony Bueckert from Thornhill, Man., travelled to Cancun along with his spouse and two kids on Dec. 17 and was presupposed to return on Dec. 24 in time for numerous household gatherings.
As an alternative, they returned on Dec. 26, and needed to pay for an additional evening on the lodge out of pocket as a result of the household’s flights had been repeatedly postponed with out discover.
“I personal a enterprise, I repair vehicles for a dwelling, and if I used to be to say it should be accomplished at the moment after which I simply do not cellphone them for 3 days with no data, they’d be pissed and I might be out of enterprise,” he mentioned.
“Simply do not deal with your prospects that means. It should not occur ever, in any line of labor there must be some kind of data.”
Abby Heathcote was additionally staying within the Cancun space and hoping to journey dwelling to Teulon, Man., on Christmas Eve, however that flight was delayed till the subsequent day.
The additional evening in lodge was coated by the airline, however when their Christmas Day flight was postponed, Heathcote spent a lot of the subsequent day within the lodge foyer ready for data.
“We had no thought what was occurring and we needed to examine nearly each hour and issues had been altering nearly each hour and simply utterly no communication by any means,” she advised CBC Information on Tuesday.
“Regardless that we had been protected and we had been in a position to keep on the resort, it was only a actually scary and helpless feeling as a result of we had been so alone.”
Sunwing mentioned in a press release on Tuesday that it is working across the clock to convey folks dwelling.
Up to now this week, the airline has accomplished two restoration flights to Mexico and have one other eight deliberate.
Heathcote says she feels for the Canadians who’re nonetheless caught in Mexico ready for flights dwelling, and would not know the way they’re presupposed to belief Sunwing’s phrase.
“It is good that they are saying that, however when you’ll be able to’t talk that to anyone and you are not telling anybody the place they’re presupposed to be or once they’re going someplace, that is simply phrases. That does not imply something.”
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