A Calgary household who flew to Toronto solely to show round and fly again residence resulting from WestJet delays mentioned their $4,000 trip went “down the drain.”
“We got here again in the home 23 hours later, $4,000 down the drain and a trip gone,” April Kendell informed CTV Information Toronto.
Final Thursday, Kendell set out on a visit to Deer Lake, Newfoundland along with her associate and two youngsters, a 12 and 14 12 months outdated, to go to her household out east who she hadn’t seen in three years.
Their flight from Calgary to Toronto, the place they deliberate to make the connection to Deer Lake, was scheduled to go away at 7 am native time, nevertheless it did not depart till 10:45 am
“We did not wish to be caught in Toronto as a result of the following flight [to Deer Lake] would not go away till Saturday,” Kendell mentioned.
However she mentioned the flight attendants inspired her that WestJet would maintain the connecting flight for her household.
Nonetheless, after paying for Wi-Fi as soon as they have been within the air, Kendell discovered that the flight from Toronto to Deer Lake had left. After they deplaned, they have been pointed to a customer support desk together with the opposite passengers who had missed their flights.
There, she mentioned they waited for five.5 hours and discovered through Twitter that there was an IT outage that delayed 100 WestJet flights that day.
WestJet confirmed to CTV Information Toronto that a number of of their flights skilled “vital uncontrollable delays” on Thursday resulting from an exterior third-party infrastructure outage that impacted WestJet’s airport check-in, flight planning and cost companies.
“We apologize to our impacted visitors for the sudden disruption to their journey and perceive the frustration concerned when journey doesn’t go as deliberate,” a spokesperson for the airline mentioned.
WestJet mentioned they accommodate visitors on the following accessible flight when an “uncontrollable” occasion takes place.
Nonetheless, in Kendell’s case, the following flight to Deer Lake was nonetheless days away.
“We get to the counter lastly,” Kendell mentioned. “They are saying, ‘Oh no, this wasn’t our fault.’ They would not give us a single lodge or meals voucher.”
“You need us to spend three nights in Toronto, final second, out of pocket?”
In an effort to salvage their trip, they requested if it might be potential to journey to Ottawa as an alternative, the place in addition they have household. However Kendell mentioned the airline was going to cost them a change price.
“Lastly, the one method we might get something with out paying is by going again to Calgary,” she mentioned. “I’ve by no means felt a lot like a quantity to an organization.”
For 3 days after their travels, Kendell mentioned she cried.
“I’d have fairly somebody come at me on the road and steal my cash, no less than I would not have had a day of torture.”