Toronto Pearson International Airport devolved into mayhem this week, somehow less so because of the Delta plane crash that saw an aircraft unbelievably flip over and burst into flames on the runway, and more so because of resulting flight cancellations and irate passengers.
The hub was left operating in a limited capacity in the aftermath of the accident, with two closed runways and a growing backlog of delayed and cancelled flights just days after severe winter storms, to boot.
While there is nary a person who would take the news of a flight disruption well, one might imagine that under the circumstances, hiccups were to be expected, and thus a little more forgivable.
Issues with those who had booked with one airline in particular, though, ended up causing such a stir that 911 was called on Wednesday morning.
On Monday, the Canadian carrier — known for its vacation packages to tropical getaways — advised travellers that all of its flights into and out of Pearson would be delayed for 24-48 hours, with flight delays to and from other airports in Ontario and Quebec also possible.
“The airport closure earlier today, coupled with recent winter weather events across Canada, may result in some flights being cancelled to and from Ontario and Quebec gateways in the days ahead,” the airline wrote.
“We thank our customers for their patience and understanding during this unforeseen airport closure, and while we work to get them to their intended destination.”
But those who were anticipating escaping to a beach somewhere in that 48-hour window rather than sitting knee-deep in snow and minus double-digit temperatures proved to have little patience for the unexpected holdup, as did those who weren’t able to make it back home from their trips in time.
As Sunwing confirmed the cancellation of flights out of Toronto and Montreal on Wednesday morning, things on the ground got tense. Frustrated outbound travellers were joined by those who had recently arrived in Toronto via the airline, late and unable to retrieve their own luggage due to staffing issues.
A group ended up gathering around a Sunwing kiosk and demanding answers to their concerns so fervently that someone among the chaos ended up calling the police.
Peel Police response
Peel Regional Police (PRP) confirmed to blogTO on Thursday that officers attended the scene yesterday, “essentially just for crowd control.”
“People were getting a little upset but it was nothing overt, nothing atypical of our airport calls. There are just a lot more cancellations and delays happening with the weather and the crash at Pearson,” a representative of the force explained.
@ciindyyxxo So mad had us wait so long in a line to tell us our whole trip was cancelled after spending money on carry ons and exchanging money to us currency money on Ubers and alot more like days off work you knew for days!!! Why waste our time @Sunwing Vacations #sunwing #sunwingvacations #airplane #airport ♬ original sound – Ciindy🙏🏼🇨🇦🏝️
They added that despite the attention given to this particular dispute, the force receives these sorts of calls often, even multiple times a week — in fact, there was more than one call of this nature on Wednesday alone in light of the various delays.
“It’s a regular occurence for the airport unit, for Sunwing particularly because it’s people going on vacation, so they get a little bit more agitated,” the force said. “It’s not like it happens every single day, but it is a pretty routine call for airport to head to a kiosk because sometimes customers take it too far.”
Videos show the tension
As videos bemoaning Sunwing’s handling of the situation make their rounds on TikTok, it seems many sympathize with passengers’ frustrations and subsequent actions.
@ashkellymarie Who knows when or if we get our baggage-3 flights not being unloaded due to manpower #torontopearson #sunwing #sunwingvacations #torontoairport ♬ original sound – Ash_Ley
“All of these people booked a week off work for this trip, planned it for months, bought all kinds of stuff to take with them and it’s just cancelled? Sunwing never takes accountability,” one person commented.
Others claimed that this week’s unprecedented delays aside, the company has been known for flight cancellations for years.
Fortunately, PRP says that the simple presence of officers tends to calm crowds and mitigate any further escalation in these scenarios, though some may wonder if it is the best use of police time.
What to do if your flight has been delayed or cancelled
For those who have had their travel plans impacted by Monday’s emergency, air passenger rights advocate Gábor Lukács has some advice.
“Passengers whose flight is delayed genuinely due to the crash, and not for the airline’s
failure to properly respond to the domino effect, are not entitled to a lump sum compensation, nor meals/accommodation,” he said.
But, he says travellers are owed rebooking on the next available flight to their destination departing in the next 48 hours from either their original airline, its
partner or a competitor that would get them there “in the fastest possible way,” free of charge.
If the airline can not fulfill their obligation, they could be entitled to a refund or repayment for having to make alternative plans.
“If the airline refuses or fails to rebook a passenger on a competitor airline, I would recommend passengers to document it, and then buy a ticket themselves and make the original airline pay on the basis that the airline did not fulfill its contractual/regulatory obligations with respect to rebooking.”
Sunwing is offering full refunds within 21 business days to any customers whose trips have had to be cancelled in this case, no further action required. The brand has resumed flights from Toronto as of Friday.
Ongoing delays
The wreckage of Delta Air Lines flight 4819 (operated by Endeavor Air) was finally removed from the tarmac over Wednesday and Thursday, but the latest update from Pearson states that “staff are conducting a thorough inspection of the runway to assess damage, with the goal of reopening as soon as possible.”
