westjet airlines Due to the abnormal weather that lasted several days, cancellations and backorders continue.
The Calgary-based airline reported more than 530 flight cancellations from Jan. 11 to 2 p.m. Jan. 15, with five days of “extreme cold weather causing multiple operational and crew disruptions.” It’s having a significant impact,” he said.
Debbie Kramer is just one of the aviators affected by the cancellation. The Edmonton native was attempting to return home from Phoenix via Calgary, but she ran into some problems.
“The night before the flight,[WestJet]kept making changes and rebooking,” she told Global News.
Kramer was finally able to board a flight to Calgary, but learned his flight to Edmonton had been cancelled. With nowhere else to go and no one to help him, he was forced to spend the night sitting in a chair at the airport.
To add insult to injury, her luggage also never arrived.
“It’s gone,” she said. “We don’t know if it was lost in Phoenix or Calgary or Edmonton.”
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Christy Van Delden was also scheduled to fly to Edmonton, but was instead sent to the cancellation line, where she was forced to wait along with dozens of other passengers. She has two children under the age of two.
“We don’t know anything,” she said. “I believe we will have good news once this line is over.”
“If things get worse, I’m going to rent a car. I can’t stay in a hotel with two kids under 2. That’s not going to happen.”
However, there are some flights from WestJet Airlines. Ashley Taylor has finally arrived from Vancouver. Taylor was in Abbotsford, British Columbia, for an exhibition for the nonprofit One Broken Biker.
“I’m tired,” she said upon arrival. She said: “I changed my flight so many times over the course of 24 hours, it was crazy.”
Taylor said the group had to rent a car to get there because not only was the flight changed, but it was also rescheduled to depart from a different airport.
“It ended up costing us over $1,500 more. So we hope they can refund us.”
WestJet Airlines told Global News that the airline is “adhering to all standards of care,” adding that affected passengers can travel to its airlines. Visit our website for more information. Above all, the airline said, “We sincerely apologize to all customers affected by the flight cancellations and extended delays.”
passenger rights
head of advocacy group Air passenger rights Gabor Lukács told Global News Consumers that they should not simply accept the “weather excuse” as realistic. Mr. Lukács pointed out that air passengers are often entitled to a number of rights under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), including:
- ● Rebooking on a competing airline.
● Assistance (meals, lodging, etc.).and
● Lump-sum compensation of up to $1,000 per passenger.
Additional regulations are available online.