Hundreds of Sask. residents finally make their way home after being stranded in Cuba almost a week | 24CA News

Elizabeth Bentley says dragging baggage to the reception each morning, solely to deliver again them as much as the resort rooms at night time, was a routine for nearly every week for her and different passengers stranded in Cuba.

“It was abandonment. I had put up a Christmas tree before leaving, put presents there and told my kids to come on the eve, but we weren’t there. And then the new year didn’t happen either,” she stated.

Bentley stated it was a mistake for her household to assume they may belief Sunwing with their flights.

Hundreds of Saskatchewan residents caught in Cuba as a consequence of Sunwing cancellations lastly arrived in Winnipeg on Sunday night time. Upon arrival, opposite to what they’d been instructed earlier, Sunwing knowledgeable them that solely eight tickets have been reserved for a WestJet flight to Regina on Monday afternoon. More than a dozen instantly hit the street on Sunday night time, with a number of extra following Monday morning.

“Then, out of nowhere, to our surprise Sunwing said they will offer us a flight to Regina on Monday afternoon,” Theresa Joan Ayerst, who was travelling along with her husband, son and mother-in-law, stated.

She stated the flight again to Regina solely had 28 passengers on it, all individuals who had been stranded in Cuba.

Ayerst stated the journey took a toll on her household.

“My 13-year-old son suffers from severe anxiety and every day he was crying asking are we ever getting back home,” she stated with tears in her eyes.

“We were really excited to be going away for Christmas, but are coming back feeling way more emotional and stressed.”

Ayerst stated the one good factor out of their ordeal was some friendships made in the course of the shared disaster. She stated a Facebook group is rising, with discuss circulating a couple of class-action swimsuit in opposition to Sunwing.

Last week, Sunwing introduced it was cancelling all its flights out of Saskatoon and Regina till Feb. 3.

CBC reached out to Sunwing for an interview for this story, however the airline declined.

Ayerst, who lives in Regina, stated she would by no means fly with Sunwing once more.

Other Sunwing clients CBC spoke with at Regina Airport on Monday afternoon shared that sentiment.

“Nightmare” was the one phrase Bryan Marciszyn might consider to explain his expertise with Sunwing. He was presupposed to be again house in Manitou Beach, Sask., from Cuba on Dec. 27.

“I was waiting in the lobby of my hotel for five days for a bus that never showed up,” he stated.

During that point, he fell and banged his head, and needed to get medical therapy.

Others missed out on work alternatives and stated it felt “like abuse” to take care of Sunwing buyer care, which they are saying was all the time missing data.

“I’m usually a strong person and nothing gets me, but I had a couple of breakdowns,” Valerie Lechner, one of many individuals who drove from Winnipeg to Regina, stated.

She stated she selected to drive as a result of after earlier “false promises of a plane coming,” she didn’t wish to to belief Sunwing once more.

“Being back in Canada was like a weight was lifted off. There were people with babies who ran out of formula and diapers. In this day of technology, how can Sunwing have so much miscommunication?”

King Chen, who was touring with 10 individuals together with three younger children, agreed.

“It was very frustrating. Both arriving and departing flights were delayed. We kept checking but there were no alerts or information,” she stated.

In an e mail assertion shared with CBC, the provincial authorities stated it’s conscious that a number of hundred passengers returned to Saskatchewan, with extra anticipated within the coming days. 

“Sunwing is still unable to tell us with certainty when all Saskatchewan residents will be repatriated,” the assertion stated.

“We expect Sunwing to treat customers fairly and we expect that federal [Transport] Minister [Omar] Alghabra and the CTA will be holding carriers accountable as that is their regulatory responsibility.”

Manitoba resident Debra Geiler, who stated she needed to pay greater than $4,000 out of her personal pocket to make her manner from Cuba to Toronto to Regina earlier than lastly arriving house in Brandon, stated it may not be clean crusing searching for compensation from Sunwing.

“I hope they compensate us for that,” she stated. “On the news, when we were stranded there, we saw ministers say it’s shocking and disappointing, but they didn’t do anything.”

She and others stated they need the federal authorities to look into Sunwing’s disrupted service.

‘Airlines should not sometimes held accountable’: advocate

Gábor Lukács, founder and co-ordinator of Air Passenger Rights, instructed CBC’s Saskatoon Morning that every one passengers are entitled to alternate transportation to their unique locations.

He stated that may embody shopping for tickets on different airways, rivals included, below the Montreal Convention, a multilateral treaty overlaying airline legal responsibility enforced in Canada.

“A deal is a deal. Sunwing airlines cannot just unilaterally walk away from the contract which is already concluded and paid by the passengers,” he stated.

“With all these cancellations that are fully within Sunwing’s control, they have to pay passengers lost wages, meals, accommodations and so on.”

Lukács stated passengers ought to ship Sunwing a letter of demand stating the incurred bills, with copies of receipts. 

“If Sunwing, as expected, doesn’t pay, passengers can serve Sunwing with small claims court papers. Sunwing will have to come to Saskatchewan and defend in court why it’s not paying passengers,” he stated.

“These situations keep happening over and over again because airlines are not typically held accountable, neither by the government nor the public.”

Lukács stated he doubts Sunwing will reside as much as its obligation of paying passengers a lump sum of $500 inside 30 days, as is required below the Accessible Transportation Planning and Reporting Regulations.

“The Canadian Transportation Agency could fine up to $25,000 per passenger and per incident for many of these violations, but I fear it may not be happening anytime soon,” he stated.

Lukács stated he wouldn’t be stunned to see a class-action lawsuit in opposition to the airline and urged passengers hold information of their conversations with Sunwing representatives.

“Whatever time it takes, do it. Don’t let Sunwing keep your money.”