Several passengers who were on board an Air Canada plane scheduled to leave Toronto on Friday say the flight was delayed for hours before it was canceled and re-booked the next day with no food vouchers or accommodation. offered by the airline.
Dorar Abuzaid, one of the passengers, said she arrived late for her wedding in Phoenix on Saturday.
“It was a 24-hour ordeal for a four-hour flight,” Abuzaid told CTV News Toronto.
On Friday, he said he boarded the flight and sat on the tarmac for three hours before the flight was canceled.
Abuzaid said that after boarding the plane, a crew member announced that one of the flight attendants was experiencing a medical emergency.
He said that after paramedics assessed the flight attendant and considered them safe to fly, the pilot announced that Air Canada management had made the executive decision which was still unsafe.
“It was 12:30 at night,” Abuzaid said.
Originally, his flight was scheduled to depart at 8 p.m., but at that time, it was too late to have a new flight attendant notice and the flight was canceled, Abuzaid said.
“After that it got worse exponentially,” he said. “There are no food vouchers, no hotels, nothing. We ended up sleeping at the airport. “
An Air Canada spokesman confirmed to CTV News Toronto that the flight was delayed 2 hours and 15 minutes before it was canceled due to a medical problem with a crew member and that all customers returned to book and they left the next day at 11:32 in the morning.
Dorar Abuzaid and her husband are photographed on their wedding day after arriving late due to delays from Air Canada (supplied).
However, the airline spokesman did not address why the airline did not offer food vouchers and hotel reservations.
Under Air Canada regulations, the airline will provide food and drink in reasonable quantities to passengers who have been notified of a delay or cancellation less than 12 hours prior to departure and have waited two hours after departure. departure time.
The guidelines state that the airline should also provide a hotel or comparable accommodation for overnight delays for out-of-town passengers, subject to availability.
Another passenger, Lara Forchuk, told CTV News Toronto that the airline said passengers should book and pay for hotels on their own, but would be reimbursed if they found accommodation.
Abuzaid said that when she finally arrived in Phoenix for her wedding, 14 hours after she was supposed to do so, she was deprived of sleep. “I’m the bride and I was the last to come to Arizona,” Abuzaid said.
“We were fainting at the dinner table,” he added.
Samantha, who asked for her last name to be omitted, told CTV News Toronto that she was also aiming to arrive in Arizona in a timely manner for her cousin’s bachelorette party in Scottsdale.
“I haven’t heard a word from Air Canada yet,” he said. “It was almost a 24-hour ordeal without airline communication.”
As a Toronto resident, Samantha said she was lucky enough to sleep at least at home after the flight was canceled, but still, the experience was “painful.”
Forchuk said he slept in an airport chair while waiting for the booked flight Saturday morning.
The Glendale resident returned home to Arizona after visiting her parents in Brantford, Ont. Like Abuzaid, he said no food vouchers or hotel accommodation booked by the airline were offered.
“It was canceled without explanation,” he said.