WestJet passengers faced long lineups at Calgary International Airport on Tuesday as the airline worked to recover from a short-lived flight attendant strike that disrupted travel over the long weekend. WestJet and the union representing about 4,400 flight attendants reached a tentative agreement Monday, ending the strike and allowing flights to resume. But the airline continued working through a backlog of cancelled and delayed trips, leaving many passengers to deal with the fallout. Three broad groups of travellers filled the WestJet check-in area Tuesday morning: those whose flights were operating as scheduled, those whom the airline had rebooked on delayed or circuitous itineraries, and others who still could not secure a new flight. Neill Hunt was trying to return trip to London with his family after WestJet cancelled multiple flights and failed to rebook them. “It’s not been good,” he said. “Return flight booked on Saturday. They canceled it before the strike started. Rebooked me on Monday, then canceled that when the strike happened. And I’ve got no other flights. They haven’t rebooked me since then.” Hunt says he repeatedly tried to reach WestJet before coming to the airport, despite the airline advising affected passengers not to do so. “There have been times when I have gotten through. I’ve been told the wait is as much as 12 hours. I’ve also been on hold and had it hang up on me multiple times,” he said. Hunt says his family had paid for hotel rooms while waiting for another flight. He said he may book with another airline if WestJet cannot get them home. “I’ll have to book myself and then hope they pay me back,” he said. WestJet rebooked other passengers, but some still faced significant delays. Hang Bui was trying to return to Winnipeg after the airline cancelled her direct flight Sunday. “I was supposed to fly out on Sunday evening to Winnipeg directly from Calgary, but then obviously that got canceled. So, WestJet rebooked me for today, but they rebooked me for a flight to Edmonton, and then I have a six-hour layover later from Edmonton to Winnipeg,” she said. Bui says the disruption forced her to miss work and pay for additional accommodation. “I would like to, but I don’t think that’s going to happen ever,” she said when asked if she expected compensation. “It’s really frustrating, for sure.” Other travellers escaped the disruption. Dwayne McIntosh was departing for the United Kingdom after WestJet reached the tentative agreement just in time for his trip. “Much to my relief, when I woke up Monday morning they had a tentative deal. My flight wasn’t canceled. I get to go on holidays unaffected,” he said. “I feel for everybody because I’ve been through it, but at the same time, I’m all about people should be paid for the work they do,” McIntosh added. Air passenger rights advocate Gábor Lukács says the airline, not the traveller, must arrange replacement transportation. “The onus is not on you as a passenger to be rebooked. It is WestJet that is supposed to rebook you under the law,” Lukács said. He urged passengers who cannot get help to document their attempts to contact WestJet before buying replacement tickets. “Make sure that you document what they are doing. Like, don’t just buy a ticket without proof that you gave them a chance,” he said. Lukács also warned passengers who still need to travel against accepting a refund when a replacement flight costs substantially more. “You have to put me on an Air Canada flight. You have to buy me a ticket or pay for my Air Canada flight,” he said, describing what passengers should ask from the airline. WestJet said it was working to restore normal operations and move passengers to their destinations as quickly as possible following the labour disruption.
