Passengers stranded up to two weeks after Flair cancels flight amid storm

KITCHENER — Derek Cheng is stuck in his university room for most of the holidays after his Flair Airlines flight out of Breslau was cancelled this week amid a blistering winter storm.

After being forced to head home from the airport during the height of the storm on Friday night, the airline notified him that his new flight to Vancouver would not be rescheduled until Jan. 6, just a day before he is scheduled to fly back.

“It’s been a bit of a nightmare,” he said. “The whole situation has just been so frustrating and I’m angry.”

The 20-year-old University of Waterloo student was headed home to Coquitlam, B.C. to spend the holidays with his family, and opted for the budget Flair flight to try and keep his costs low.

Scheduled to leave the Region of Waterloo International Airport on Dec. 23 at 6:50 p.m., the flight was pushed back to 10 p.m. as the storm started battering the region.

At 6 p.m., Cheng and his fellow passengers at the airport were notified their flight had been cancelled.

Fortunately, Cheng was able to take a taxi to the bus station, and eventually found his way to his university home. But for those who don’t live locally, it meant finding accommodations for up to two weeks while they wait for the rescheduled flight.

“The weather in Canada in the last few days has caused many disruptions to airline schedules,” said Flair spokesperson Mike Arnot. “As a direct consequence, many airlines have had to cancel flights, including Flair. There has been a follow-on impact to other flights on the Flair Airlines network. We know this is extremely disappointing to passengers.”

The Air Passenger Protection Regulations ensures that airlines must find an alternative flight for passengers within 48 hours of their original departure time. In cases where there are no available flights on the airline’s network, tickets can be purchased for the passenger on other airlines.

However, this regulation only applies to large carriers like Air Canada or WestJet.

Flair does not have commercial arrangements with other carriers and is therefore only mandated to provide a “confirmed reservation for the next available flight that is operated by the original carrier.”

After getting home on Friday, Cheng unsuccessfully called Flair’s customer service line on three different occasions. On his first attempt, he was notified there were 290 calls ahead of him. He waited for three hours, but never got through. He tried another two times, but had similar results.

On Christmas morning, he woke up at 7 a.m. and was fourth in line when he called. He eventually got through, and the airline was able to push him up to the next available flight on Dec. 29.

“I’m just extremely frustrated with the airline because if they are supposed to put me on the next available flight, why didn’t they put me on this flight in the first place?” he said.

The storm has caused cancellations across the country, and airlines like Flair are trying to accommodate thousands of passengers across its network who are trying to travel.

“We know our passengers are looking forward to holiday travel or getting home, and we want to get them on their way,” said Arnot. “Flair reaccommodates passengers on the next available Flair flight or provides a refund. However, because many flights have been cancelled and flights are quite full, that means seat availability is quite constrained.”

Cheng won’t be home for Christmas, but at least now he will be able to spend some time with his family before the winter semester starts up.

For now, he’s just praying for clear weather and no more cancellations.

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