Ottawa woman stuck in Punta Cana due to Sunwing delays

An Ottawa woman is among hundreds of passengers left stranded by Sunwing Vacations because of a technical issue affecting the airline.

As of Tuesday, the problem still hadn't been fixed.

Lauren Lozier from Ottawa has been pacing the lobby of a Punta Cana resort for two days, hoping to board a bus to the airport soon.

“Our flight’s been delayed I think 28 hours now. They just pushed it again,” says Lozier. “The flight keeps getting changed. Usually it’s in half-hour increments. We started at 1:45, and then it was 2:15, 2:30. Then it got pushed to 3:00. Then it was 3:45. And now its 4:15.”

The resort’s lobby is filled with Sunwing passengers who have been temporarily left stranded, and left in the dark.

“Sunwing has not emailed me,” says Lozier. “There’s been no contact from the actual company to be like, ‘Hey, sorry.’ We just keep getting our ‘flight delayed’ email. And sometimes they don’t come in, so you have to keep checking the app.”

The company says this is all happening because of a computer glitch affecting the its check-in system.

“Our check-in systems provider continues to experience a system outage affecting our flight operations. We sincerely apologize to all of our customers whose travel plans have been impacted,” Sunwing said in a statement Tuesday.

Some passengers are stuck in the Caribbean; others are stuck in Canadian airports trying to get their vacations underway. Frustration setting in.

“I think maybe the lack of communication,” says one Montreal traveller. “You can see a lot of frustrated people.”

“You go on the website and there’s nothing. ‘We’ll keep you posted. We’ll keep you updated,’” says another Montreal traveller.

One woman in Toronto says she’s had to stay in a hotel because of the delays.

“We’ve been waiting since yesterday. Our flight was supposed to be at 11:30 a.m. Then it was delayed again until the afternoon, and then the evening, and then we were put up in a hotel overnight, and then back here this morning at quarter to six.”

There are flights coming and going to southern destinations according to Sunwing’s website, but passengers still feel unsure when they can get on them.

Lozier was only supposed to be in Punta Cana for five days, and although it’s now day seven and she still hasn’t boarded a plane, she says things could be worse.

“We’re in a beautiful place,” says Lozier. “It’s snowing in Ottawa, so we’re trying not to be that upset.”