Five-hour flight across Canada turns into 24-hour nightmare for passengers
A BC resident is calling on Lynx Air for compensation after what should have been a five-hour flight turned out to be a nearly 24-hour journey without “real food.”
Anna Almonte lives in New Westminster and planned to surprise her relatives in Montreal and enjoy Canada Day fireworks.
However, the nightmare-like journey started before her flight took off. Almonte explained that the ultra-affordable airline delayed her flight out of Vancouver International Airport several times around 7:30 am.
She was able to eventually take off around 11:30 am.
Almonte said it was a smooth flight until the plane was held above the Montreal airport.
Due to weather conditions, after about two hours, the plane was rerouted to Toronto. However, she said she was told the aircraft was rejected to land at the airport, and the plane was again rerouted to Hamilton, Ontario.
After landing in Hamilton, she said it was “relieving,” however, “once we landed we were told to stay in our seats, keep our seatbelts on… then eventually we got an update that we were not allowed to deplane… and enter the airport due to not having enough security staff. We were on the tarmac for a few hours, maybe like two or more.”
“It felt like a long time. And when we were on the tarmac… we’re also told that we are not to use the washroom because they were closed because they’re being serviced,” Almonte added.
To add to the stress, Almonte said there was no food available and “the tension was high.”
“And I did hear… people begging the attendants for food or snacks or anything for their kids,” she said.
Eventually, the airline was able to pass out cookies, but “there was no real food.”
After waiting on the tarmac for about two hours, passengers were able to walk off the plane around 10 pm.
Considering it was late evening, Almonte said eateries in the airport were closed, “and the only source of food that we can have was the vending machine — which was lined up because there’s really no other choice.”
Starving Stranded Passengers on Canada Day @Lynx_Air ppl started using their elbows to get a spot in the bus. NOT OKAY pic.twitter.com/BiOWy5RuJk
— 🌸channa🌸 (@anna_almost) July 2, 2023
Daily Hive has reached out to Lynx Air but did not receive a statement in time for the deadline. However, the airline tweeted an apology to Almonte for the travel disruption.
“Unfortunately, weather conditions limited the possibility to safely arrive at your destination. We understand the frustration of the disruption caused, but as our first priority is always the safety of our passengers and crew, we had to make a difficult decision in getting you to your destination safely in an alternative method,” the tweet reads.
A shuttle bus was organized to drive travellers to Montreal; however, it did not arrive until 1 am Sunday.
“It was solely supposed to be a weekend [trip], but we did lose a day,” Almonte said, adding she arrived in Montreal around 8 am Sunday.
Anna Almonte
She is calling this experience disappointing, adding, “I’m very skeptical of booking with them again after this.
“I would like some compensation for all the stress and starvation because definitely, my stomach is not the same after fasting for a whole day.”