Feds question Flair Airlines after Canadians stranded in Cancun for days

The compliance and enforcement arm of Canada’s transportation regulator is in touch with Flair Airlines after two flights were delayed by about 48 hours leaving Cancun airport.

In both instances, passengers told Daily Hive the days-long sagas were marked by a lack of communication, a lack of food, and frantic shuttling between the terminal and airport hotels. One flight scheduled to leave Thursday didn’t leave until Saturday, and a second flight scheduled to leave Sunday didn’t take off until Tuesday.

“The Agency’s Compliance and Enforcement unit is in contact with the airline and is monitoring the situation as it unfolds,” a spokesperson for the Canadian Transportation Agency told Daily Hive.

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Flair was designated a large airline by the Canadian government in January 2024, increasing its obligations under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

For delays within the airline’s control, Flair is required to re-book passengers on its next flight leaving within nine hours. If that’s not possible, it’s required to re-book passengers on another airline with which it has a commercial agreement. Finally, if no commercial agreement flights are available within the nine-hour window, Flair must re-book a passenger on a competitor’s route, leaving within 48 hours of the originally scheduled departure time.

Flair told customers on the Sunday flight that the delay was “due to unanticipated maintenance delays within airline’s control but required for safety.”

The pilot for Thursday’s flight told passengers over an airport bus intercom that their flight was delayed because of navigation system issues, passenger Stephanie Conners told Daily Hive.

“The way that they treat people is absolutely criminal,” she said. “I would never fly with them again.”

Gábor Lukács, an advocate for air passenger rights, has repeatedly slammed airlines and the federal government for failing to follow Air Passenger Protection Regulations. This week’s two instances in Cancun were particularly egregious.

“The behaviour and such a blatant disregard of the law is troubling,” he told Daily Hive.

Flair has not replied to Daily Hive’s requests for comment about what happened to the Cancun flights.