Sunwing Responds After Canadians Stuck In Mexico Complain Of Chaos & Awful Service

Sunwing Airlines has been facing a huge backlash after hundreds of Canadians were left stranded in Cancun, Mexico, after their flights were disrupted due to a winter storm.

There has been a rise in complaints, with customers accusing the airline of a lack of transparency and communication, and overall bad service.

This includes a family that says a Sunwing representative threatened to "make sure they stay there forever" after they enquired about a return flight, according to a report by CTV.

In a statement to Narcity, the airline said that the destination's representative's comments, which were captured on video, were "inappropriate" and that the person had been removed from all duties and will face disciplinary actions.

"An internal review has been conducted," the statement said.

"We sincerely apologize to our customers for their experience and would like to reassure them that the representative’s comments are not aligned with our company’s values,” it added.

On Thursday, even Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, has stated that he's "very concerned" about the situation with Sunwing Airlines.

"Canadians are patient when it comes to weather disruptions but they rightly expect their airlines to keep them informed and to manage these disruptions smoothly," he said.

"This ongoing situation is unacceptable. Canadians must receive the information they need to return home safely. We expect all airlines to keep their passengers informed when it comes to delivering a service that they were paid to do," he added.

According to a media statement from Sunwing, the teams are working through the backlog of flights to get their customers to their destinations as soon as possible.

"We have planned 40 recovery flights for this week, 24 of which have already operated or will be complete by end of day today (December 29th)."

"For customers awaiting updated flight times, information on rescheduled flights will be communicated as they are confirmed, through flight alert notifications and through destination representatives."

The airline said that passengers affected can submit a claim for compensation or refund while receipts for related expenses can also be sent to Sunwing Cares for review.

"We apologize to our customers for the delays, and would like to reassure them that we continue to work around the clock to return them home in the next few days."

On Thursday, Sunwing Airlines also announced that it was cancelling all flights out of Regina and Saskatoon until February 3, citing "extenuating circumstances."

Stay safe out there, travellers!

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.