‘Are we sleeping on the beach?’: Passengers speak out after Sunwing cancels flights out of Pearson

Sunwing Airlines cancelled numerous southbound flights from Toronto Pearson Airport, citing the need to prioritize bringing home stranded passengers—some delayed for days—after a week of heavy snowfall and the Delta plane crash.

A total of 13 flights southbound were cancelled, resulting in at least one frustrated Canadian traveller speaking out.

“Four days, we went through that. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,” said Rose Latendresse, who remains stranded with her husband at an airport in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Pearson Airport had a complete shutdown on Monday after a Delta Air Lines flight crashed upon landing, injuring 21 passengers. All runways were closed for nearly three hours, and two are still shut down for the investigation. The downed plane was removed from the tarmac late on Wednesday.

For the airline’s part, Sunwing said all affected customers will receive a full refund within 21 business days.

In each instance, Latendresse says she and her husband were bussed an hour from their hotel to the airport, where they waited hours in long lines and chaotic crowds.

“An older gentleman passed out. Somebody was yelling, is there a doctor? Is there a doctor?” she said.

Sunwing directs blame at Pearson Airport

Latendresse explained that their flight was cancelled each time, and they’d have to bus back to their hotels, where Sunwing said they’d pay for their accommodation. Still, the check-in process was just as long and exhausting because so many travellers needed additional stays.

“We’re old. We can’t be, you know, getting up at 2:30 a.m. and being up till 10:30 p.m., you know, wondering, are we going to get a room? What are we going to do? Are we sleeping on the beach?”

In a travel advisory released by Sunwing, the airline points to recent weather disruptions, crew availability constraints and minimal hotel capacity as the reason for the delays, adding, “This difficult but essential operational decision allows us to redirect our resources toward bringing delayed customers home as quickly and safely as possible.”

Along with high winds, Toronto was hit with over 60 centimetres of snow over the weekend as operations slowly returned to normal across the city.

“We understand this decision impacts our customers’ vacation plans and sincerely apologize for the disruption,” a Sunwing spokesperson said.

Latendresse, meanwhile, says the airline continues to blame Toronto Pearson for the flight cancellations and persistent issues.

“They’re saying this because of the Delta Air Lines plane crash. But I mean, again, the other planes are getting in.”

In a statement, Toronto Pearson Airport said as of Wednesday night, “Sunwing has cancelled the remainder of its flights for the day, a total of 13 departures out of Toronto Pearson. Sunwing [could not] reduce its operating rates in advance as requested by the airport, which unfortunately resulted in these delayed cancellations.”

Latendresse welcomes a refund but says far more has to be done to accommodate frustrated travellers.

“It wasn’t just the cancelled flights. It’s the fact that you know, we’re averaging two and a half, three hours a day or night sleep. Our nerves are frazzled. There were days we didn’t eat,” she said.

Latendresse says she and her husband have booked Air Transat flights home and expect Sunwing to cover the cost of travel.

The airline says it is also cancelling all southbound flights departing from Toronto Pearson on Thursday.