A dream trip in Mexico become a nightmarish scenario for greater than 100 Canadian travellers, who spent three days being shuffled round between resorts and the airport — and say they obtained zero communication from their airline.
Calgary resident Bryce Drohan was speculated to fly dwelling on Saturday from Tulum, the place WestJet launched a weekly flight to the resort town south of Cancun within the Mayan Riviera final 12 months.
That didn’t occur.
“Lengthy story quick, our flight Saturday apparently had a hydraulic subject on the appropriate aspect of the aircraft,” Drohan mentioned, explaining the departure saved getting delayed till 14 hours later, the complete flight was cancelled.
Everybody was boarded onto three buses and despatched 80 kilometres north to the Barcelo advanced of resorts.
“It’s a large property. It was absolute chaos after we obtained right here, they weren’t prepared for us. They didn’t know what was occurring.”
WestJet passengers ready to be checked right into a Barcello resort after their flight was delayed.
Equipped by Bryce Drohan
Regardless of the confusion, Drohan mentioned resort employees did their greatest to accommodate the sudden arrival of almost 200 individuals.
“At that time, we nonetheless had no communication from WestJet through textual content, electronic mail, telephone calls.”
On Sunday, the passengers obtained again on the busses and drove an hour and a half again to the Tulum airport, the place Drohan mentioned they had been all checked in.
However then, after being boarded on the aircraft and ready about 45 minutes, passengers looking the window noticed floor crews unloading their baggage.
He mentioned the pilot then introduced whereas preparing for takeoff, they’d found the mechanical points had been nonetheless not resolved and it wasn’t clear if the small airport would nonetheless have employees on shift when the aircraft was lastly able to go.
“The pilot knowledgeable us he needed to argue with the Tulum airport as a result of they wished us to sleep on the airplane in a single day. No meals, no water on the airplane,” Drohan mentioned.
WestJet passengers ready for his or her flight on the airport in Tulum, Mexico in March 2025.
Equipped by Bryce Drohan
Then, passengers went by way of a repeat of the day earlier than — and once more, Drohan mentioned with no communication from their airline.
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“Finally we obtained again on the buses, transported one other — it was roughly an hour and a half again to Barcelo — similar place we had been lower than 18 hours earlier. Once more, no info,” he mentioned, including no officers appeared to have the ability to give a transparent reply of after they could be getting dwelling.
“I really feel that I can’t depend on WestJet and that they don’t actually have a vested curiosity in taking good care of their clientele,” Drohan mentioned on Monday whereas on a bus headed again to the airport, trying to depart for a 3rd time.
“They only need our cash and as soon as they obtained it, then it’s a third-party’s downside they usually’re all arguing with one another. Floor crew is blaming WestJet, WestJet is blaming the bottom crew and Nexus is blaming all people and the lodge employees are simply being tremendous cool and attempting to assist us all out.”
Drohan mentioned lots of the passengers joined a gaggle chat and have expressed considerations starting from misplaced wages attributable to lacking work, to working low on issues like remedy and diapers for youths.
“This isn’t how a Canadian firm ought to deal with Canadians, particularly these days. We’ve obtained sufficient on our plate. We simply wished a trip, all of us paid good cash.”
Drohan mentioned he understands the sudden can happen however is very dissatisfied in how WestJet has dealt with the scenario.
“I can get the delays. I completely perceive that. I perceive mechanical points. I perceive airports timing out. However my largest factor is not any communication. Like actually? You simply anticipate us to simply determine these things out on our personal? How does that make sense?”
Gábor Lukács who’s a Canadian air passenger rights advocate and president of Air Passenger Rights, says the federal authorities is failing to carry airways accountable in circumstances like this and implement the legislation.
“The best way the federal government at present behaves not directly encourages any such shabby company conduct as a result of it’s much more economical, far cheaper for WestJet to interrupt the legislation than to adjust to it,” Lukács mentioned.
He mentioned if the problem is certainly a mechanical subject, the naked minimal the airline owes its passengers — along with meals and lodging — is to rebook passengers both on one other of its personal flights, with a companion airline inside 9 hours of the unique departure time, or purchase their passengers tickets with a competitor airline.
A WestJet aircraft sitting on the tarmac of the airport in Tulum, Mexico in March 2025.
Equipped by Bryce Drohan
Lukács mentioned because it stands, it’s extra worthwhile for WestJet — which has been owned by Toronto-based personal fairness agency Onex Company since 2019 — to depart their passengers in Mexico for 3 days and get them dwelling finally, than adjust to the legislation and purchase them tickets on different airways.
“WestJet has been systematically refusing to rebook passengers on competitor airways. That’s why we’re right here,” Lukács alleges. “That proper, which is clearly articulated within the Air Passenger Safety Rules, will not be being enforced by the federal authorities.”
“This can be a systemic downside that’s rooted within the federal authorities’s failure to truly govern, to truly implement the legal guidelines as written.”
Drohan mentioned on Monday he feels helpless and deserted.
“I’ve had sufficient with excuses and sadly there’s nothing we are able to do. I imply, we’re in Mexico — When you begin shedding your cool, you’re in all probability gonna find yourself in a worse scenario.”
International Information reached out to WestJet and the Canadian Transportation Company for interviews in regards to the scenario. WestJet mentioned it will subject a written assertion as a substitute of answering questions.
“We’re sincerely sorry for the inconvenience WestJet friends skilled in Tulum. We will affirm that there have been a number of cancellations attributable to unscheduled upkeep,” the airline mentioned Monday night time.
“We perceive how irritating it’s when journey doesn’t go as deliberate, and we admire our friends’ endurance as we labored to finish the required upkeep and return the plane to service. We’re additionally grateful for the efforts of our airport, lodge and repair companions who helped to reduce the impression of those journey disruptions,” the assertion from WestJet mentioned.
WS4222 from Tulum to Calgary was delayed once more on Monday afternoon, however took off after about 45 minutes. It’s slated to land in Calgary round 10 p.m.
As of publishing, the Canadian Transportation Company had not responded to our interview request.
© 2025 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
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