Exhausted and at the end of their tether, passengers on an Air Canada flight cancelled due to an altercation between a cabin manager and other passengers finally arrived in Montreal.
Flight AC 73 to Montreal was scheduled to depart Casablanca at 8:50 a.m. local time on Friday, but a conflict that broke out between the cabin crew member and passengers on the plane derailed the plans.
“I saw the cabin chief coming running, and that’s when I started filming, because there was screaming,” said Jalal Belayane, who was on board the plane. “The way she came screaming, it was shocking.”
Her video and those of other passengers have been circulating on social media. It shows the cabin manager raising her voice in front of passengers sitting in their seats. “Are you going to behave [correctement]or do we get off?” she asks, visibly exasperated.
Not enough blankets for everyone
For Jalal Belayane, it is important that the truth comes out, because according to him, the information relayed on social networks does not give a fair picture of the facts.
” There never was [la moindre] assault on Air Canada personnel, there were only requests for blankets, he said. The people [qui ont demandé les couvertures] There were people in their forties and no one stood up.”
The tone reportedly rose after four passengers asked for blankets to keep warm. But the crew reportedly did not have enough blankets for all of the 296 passengers who wanted them, sparking outrage among some of them who had paid nearly $1,500 for the flight.
The cabin manager then ordered the plane, which was still on the ground, to return to the dock to disembark the passengers in question.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Jalal Belayane
When you throw someone off a plane, you don’t throw them off because they complained about a blanket.
Jalal Belayane
Once at the dock, local authorities allegedly entered the plane, where the Air Canada employee allegedly pointed out six passengers, whereas initially only four were concerned.
“We all rebelled and told the local authorities that it was not true and that this was not what had happened,” explains Jalal Belayane. [Après ça]we thought it was over, we told the cabin manager to apologize, but then they took four hours to discuss it further [et on était] without water, without anything.
It was after these long hours of waiting that the passengers were finally informed that their flight was cancelled.
Discomfort and crying children
Several people were said to have felt unwell on board the plane from the wait. Others were said to have had difficulty breathing, all while the cries of children who were beginning to grow impatient could be heard.
” Everybody has [ensuite] “We were dispatched to hotels across Casablanca,” says Jalal Belayane. “We didn’t have our luggage with us and had to wash our shirts in sinks.”
However, he says the return flight “went really well” and the new crew was “really good”.
Some passengers, exhausted by their mishap, are said to have felt unwell on board the plane and others are said to have collapsed upon arriving at Montreal airport.
“We were in a catastrophic situation, there were a lot of children and elderly people,” explains Younes Mekkaouis. “The behavior of the flight attendant was unacceptable and unprofessional.”
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Younes Mekkaouis
He claims that the Air Canada employee also aggressively tried to prevent passengers from filming her.
An “exceptional incident”
Air Canada confirmed in an email that the flight had to be cancelled following an “exceptional incident that does not reflect our values of hospitality.” Passengers were re-booked on a new flight to Montreal, scheduled for the following day.
Christophe Hennebelle, Air Canada’s vice-president of communications, offered the company’s apologies. “We take this incident very seriously. It is under review and we will take appropriate action,” he said.
Saturday’s flight, which was scheduled to depart at the same time as the original flight, was postponed until 2 p.m. local time, “due to the late arrival of the new cabin crew members assigned to it,” according to an email sent to passengers obtained by The Press.
The airline has offered $1,000 in compensation to passengers on the flight and an additional $500 will be deducted from their next flight with the airline.