While passengers who were on a sweltering Winnipeg-bound Westjet plane for hours in Las Vegas continue to steam, the airline says weather conditions were to blame for keeping them grounded.
Westjet spokeswoman Julia Brunet said passenger safety always comes first.
“We understand that the delay and subsequent cancellation was both tedious and long and apologize to all impacted guests,” Brunet said on Friday.
The WestJet check-in area at Pearson International Airport is photographed in Toronto, Saturday, June 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov”
“Rolling and compounding delays can be incredibly frustrating, but safety is always our top priority.”
Brunet said Westjet flight 1353 was first delayed on July 21, because the runway it was set to take off from had changed.
“(It) required the captain to make changes for weight and balance requirements for a safe departure,” she said. “During this time, the plane was rebridged and guests were able to deplane and then later reboarded.
“Following reboarding, the aircraft did push back, but was notified that refueling was required. While waiting for refueling, there was lightning impacting the airport, which further added to the complexities of operations, gating and crew time for safety reasons.”
Brunet said the flight was cancelled, but passengers were rebooked on another flight the next day.
Passengers have said they are upset because the plane was sitting in 40 C heat, with no air conditioning for about five hours. When they got off the plane — still in Vegas — it took another 2 1/2 hours to get their luggage. At that point it was 2:30 a.m. and they had to get a hotel room, which Westjet told them they had to pay for themselves.
Devin Bray, a passenger on the flight, said he was aboard “a hot aluminum tube” for at least four hours.
“They gave us one cup of water, once,” Bray said. “No food, no snack. They only came by once.
WestJet passenger jets parked at departure gates at the Calgary International Airport on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
“Crying babies, people arguing, it was like the Lord of the Flies.”
As for how Bray knows how long he was on the plane: “I watched the entire film U.S. Marshalls and half of Nixon, which is a three-hour movie.
“We were allowed to move around a little bit on the plane, but at certain times the crew would reprimand folks to stay in their seats. Very confusing … they checked in maybe once an hour over the intercom, just to tell us another excuse.”
Gabor Lukacs, founder and president of the Air Passenger Rights advocacy group, has said an overweight plane, which caused the initial delay, as well as the need for more fuel, are not weather issues and the passengers should be filing for compensation.
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Kevin Rollason
Reporter
Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.
Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.