A household journey to Costa Rica rapidly become a nightmare for an Ontario household, after their WestJet flight to Canada was delayed.
Nathan Wombwell and his sister Bethany Brubacher had been among the many aircraft’s passengers, together with 10 of their relations, together with 4 youngsters below the age of 5.
“We had good times. We were at the beach. We lived in the pool,” Wombwell said of their vacation.
But the way home was a different story.
“It felt like a bad dream, that anyone could treat paying customers like this,” stated Brubacher.“Horrific, absolutely horrific.”
The Ontario household ready on the airport. (Submitted)
Not lengthy after the household boarded their WestJet flight from Liberia, Costa Rica to Toronto, they had been advised to sit down tight as there was a customs problem involving a flight attendant.
“Are you freaking kidding me? Like, this is wild. It’s like it’s four hours sitting here, my son’s becoming unglued, I am walking him up and down the aisle,” stated Wombwell.
After 5 hours on the tarmac, the household stated they had been advised the flight was cancelled as a result of WestJet workers had exceeded the utmost hours they had been allowed to work in a shift.
The household was then advised they wanted to return to the airport the place a WestJet consultant would meet them.
After they bought there, the scenario went from dangerous to worse.
“There is no WestJet counter. Not a single one, no sign [that says] WestJet. There is no WestJet uniform anywhere. There is no WestJet lanyard anywhere. There is nothing about WestJet anywhere,” Brubacher stated.
With little or no steering about what to do, the household and about 100 different passengers stayed within the airport in a single day.
The household was advised the airport closed at midnight till they satisfied safety to maintain it open as a result of they’d no the place else to go.
“We were one of the lucky ones,” stated Wombwell. “We found a small hole in the wall [hotel]. Super sketchy.”
Brubacher stated it was a harmful scenario to be in, however the household had no different choice.
The following day, and 1000’s of {dollars} later, their flight was rescheduled.
“We sincerely apologize to friends travelling on WS2171 for the inconvenience they skilled,” a WestJet consultant advised in a part of an emailed assertion.
WestJet confirmed the delays had been attributable to customs and runway points.
“’I am sorry for your inconvenience?’ [It] really just feels condescending and fake,” stated Brubacher.
The household doesn’t consider the apology is sufficient and they’re ready to be reimbursed. It’s unclear if that may occur, or how lengthy it might take.
