Several thousand Canadians are facing flight delays due to a technical issue at Sunwing Airlines. Some cannot leave, stranded at the airport, while others are stuck abroad, short of money – and many complain of a serious lack of communication on the part of the carrier.
A “network-wide system issue” caused delays for “a number” of Sunwing flights on Sunday and Monday, which also affected check-in and boarding, the company said.
The Toronto airline explained in an email that the problem stemmed from its reservation systems provider, which also serves other airlines, disrupting their traffic as well.
Sunwing’s website shows that virtually all flights scheduled for Monday – more than 40 – were delayed, some by more than 12 hours. According to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, no Sunwing aircraft were in the air for hours, throughout the day.
Customers have taken to social media to vent their frustration.
Patrick Lévesque was due to return early Sunday evening to Ottawa from Varadero, Cuba, where the Sunwing plane had landed for a stopover from Montego Bay, Jamaica.
“Now it’s been 24 hours,” the 58-year-old construction worker lamented in a video chat from Varadero airport at 4:00 p.m. Monday.
“I don’t get paid for the days I don’t work. It’s sad,” he said, noting that he missed his Monday shift.
Sunwing hosted passengers at a hotel on Sunday evening and told them to gather in the hotel lobby for an 8 a.m. airport shuttle this morning, he said.
“Not a soul from Sunwing showed up at the hotel,” Mr. Lévesque said, noting that a shuttle arrived at 2:00 p.m.
“A lack of communication from Sunwing has confused a lot of people and upset a lot of people. »
The company said it was trying to inform passengers “as much as possible”, with arrangements for hotel accommodation and airport transfers, in some cases.
“We apologize for any inconvenience and are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” Sunwing said in a post on its website.
“We strongly encourage all customers traveling during [les 12 à 24 prochaines heures] check their flight status before heading to the airport,” the carrier added.
Passenger Kung Chu said his flight from Aruba to Toronto, scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Monday, was rescheduled for 1:42 p.m. Tuesday.
“We have not received any official email or notification that our flight has been delayed. […] and it wasn’t helpful that Sunwing’s social media platforms didn’t give us enough information about the situation, or what we should do. »
Mr Chu, a 35-year-old marketing professional who had just returned from a wedding, said he and around 30 other guests had to discern what was happening from social media posts from disgruntled passengers.
“Personally, I think it’s still uncertain until we actually get there,” he noted of his flight the next day.
“Some people say they feel almost abandoned. »