Sunwing Received 7,000 Complaints to Date on Travel Chaos, House Committee Hears

An Air Canada aircraft covered with snow and ice is moved by a tug as a Westjet aircraft is seen being moved behind it at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Dec. 21, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck)

Canadian airline executives faced Members of Parliament at a Commons committee on Jan. 12 to explain what led to the travel chaos over the holidays and how they would compensate passengers, with 7,000 of them having filed complaints with carrier Sunwing to date.

Members of the transport committee and other participating MPs of all parties expressed their common dissatisfaction with the air carriers, with much of it  directed at Sunwing.

Canadians travelling with the company over the holidays were left stranded for days at destination, along with a number of ordeals such as not being brought back to their original point of departure.

Sunwing President Len Corrado said that the company had cancelled 67 flights between Dec. 15 to 31.

These cancellations, the consequences, and other issues have led to 7,000 complaints received so far, said Andrew Dawson, president of tour operations with Sunwing Travel Group.

Dawson said the complaints were related to a mix of issues, including customers seeking compensation for extra expenses incurred and those demanding refunds after finding an alternative way to travel.

Corrado said some travellers would not be compensated if the flight had been adjudicated outside the carrier’s control due to issues like weather or because of an airport facility.

Liberal MP Annie Koutrakis asked Sunwing what lessons it took from the recent events.

“I truly appreciate that you apologize to Canadians, who received poor service from your company, but the sincerity of that apology is best judged by the actions you take afterwards,” she said.

Corrado said his carrier would be reducing its schedule for the remainder of the season to have more “slack.”

“We’ve undertaken enhancements and review of our communication systems to ensure that we have a more open line of communication and there is less opportunity for failure,” he added.

WestJet also indicated how many of its flights were cancelled over the holidays, which saw some extreme weather events in key travel hubs.

WestJet Vice-President Scott Wilson told the committee it cancelled 1,600 flights between Dec. 16 and Jan. 8.

Air Canada Vice-President for Government Relations David Rheault said he did not have the exact data on flight cancellations on hand and that he would provide it to the committee at a later time.

His colleague Kevin O'Connor, vice-president for system operations control, said the carrier operated nearly a thousand flights daily during the holidays. Air Canada rebooked 107,000 customers at the peak of the bad weather between Dec. 23 and 27.

NDP MP Taylor Bachrach asked Air Canada about the travellers who were stuck in a plane for 11 hours on the tarmac of Vancouver International Airport on Dec. 20.

He asked Air Canada witnesses why the passengers had not been deplaned after 3:45 hours as required by the Canadian Transportation Agency.

O'Connor said the airlines are not required to follow that rule if there is a safety concern.

“We could not get to a gate safely, the airport could not keep up with proper apron clearing, employees could not tow aircraft, we could not disembark using air stairs onto an open surface and transport the passengers to the terminal. All these were explored, all these questions were asked,” said O’Connor.

Bachrach remarked that it was “incredible that there isn’t some sort of contingency plan for getting passengers off an airplane in those circumstances.”

O’Connor said contingency plans exist, but he reiterated the situation was unsafe to have passengers deplane.

Airport executives and the Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra are also testifying before the committee on Jan. 12.