Sunwing Airlines system issue forces numerous flight delays at Montreal airport
Multiple Sunwing Airlines flights heading in and out of Montreal have been delayed due to technical issues Monday, leaving people stranded at various airports.
The airline took to Twitter to explain that its provider is experiencing "a network-wide system issue, which has impacted check-in and boarding."
"They have to hand-write everything, like all their boarding passes are handwritten," said one traveller, Brendan Mikan, who was supposed to fly to Costa Rica.
As of 12 p.m., five Sunwing arrivals were delayed and at least four departures were stalled.
More were delayed through the afternoon and by 6:30 p.m., many travellers were given a hotel voucher and told they wouldn't be leaving until the morning.
One Quebecer stuck in Mexico says she's stranded with no information as to how she'll eventually get home.
She says her flight was supposed to be Sunday at 4:10 p.m. but was rescheduled to 6 a.m., and then 2 p.m. Monday.
"We're not sure if we can make the flight today," she said. "All the Sunwing employees here can't help us. Instead, they are selling tours and excursions."
Sunwing says it plans to provide further updates "as needed."
It is encouraging anyone planning to travel in the next 24 hours to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
However, even some of those who have been carefully checking their flight information say they are still finding themselves stuck at faraway airports.
Mikan, who is trying to leave for a vacation in Costa Rica, says Sunwing's online announcement showed his flight was delayed by just two hours.
"Then when we got there, they advised that the systems weren't working in terms of checking and they couldn't check in our luggage. They couldn't give us our boarding passes," he said. "So, we were stuck, right?"
Right now, he's scheduled to fly through Toronto and arrive at midnight but things keep changing, he says, describing a chaotic situation at the Montreal airport, with "hundreds of people" sitting on the ground, waiting for news to "trickle down."
"It just really sucks right? Because... we have a seven-day trip. So, we're losing our first day," he said. "They've been experiencing these issues since yesterday but no one told us, no one contacted us."
PASSENGERS STRANDED IN MEXICO
Rahat Yasir is one passenger who was stranded at the airport in Cancun on Sunday with his partner after their flight was cancelled.
He says even though it was the flight home that was disrupted, "it almost ruined the experience of the vacation."
He says his flight from Cancun to Montreal was supposed to be at 4 p.m., but by 11:30 p.m. staff had put them in another hotel about an hour and a half away from the airport for the night. They were told a shuttle would bring them back for 4:30 a.m.
Then, he says he was told the shuttle wouldn't come until 6:30 a.m. Frustrated with how Sunwing handled the situation, he decided to book another flight with Air Canada.
LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: Sunwing chaos: Hundreds of passengers are stuck at either end of their sunny destination vacations because of a network glitch
He says he saw the aftermath of the Sunwing delays at the Cancun airport.
"It was really sad to see. A lot of people [were] there with small kids... and they were not taken care of properly," Yasir told CTV News after landing in Montreal Monday afternoon. "The sad part was that there were older people, there was no wheelchair for them, there were kids, they were crying and there was no food, there was no water. So it was not fun. It was not fun at all."
He says he won't choose Sunwing for his next vacation because of the ordeal.
"It was not fun to be stranded in a foreign airport, where no one is answering our calls," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard found not guilty of sexual assault
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
Missing B.C. climber died from fall on Mount Baker, medical examiner says
The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.
Following child's death in Ontario, here's what you need to know about rabies and bats
An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom, which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Anne Hathaway confirms 'Princess Diaries 3': 'Miracles happen'
You might be thinking, 'Shut up!' but it’s officially true: the 'Princess Diaries' franchise is finally growing.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Sask. man pleads guilty in U.S. after unknowingly providing videos of men raping toddlers to FBI agent
A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.