Canadian Transportation Agency launching inquiry into Sunwing flights

GATINEAU, Que. — The Canadian Transportation Agency says it is launching an inquiry into some mid-April Sunwing Airlines flights after receiving more than 80 complaints from passengers.

The agency says the flood of complaints stemmed from 23 flights to or from the Toronto Pearson International Airport between April 14 and 18 and relate to tarmac delays, flight delays, flight cancellations and lost, damaged and delayed baggage.

The CTA says its inquiry will focus on whether the airline respected its obligations towards passengers during the disruptions and if not, what corrective measures should be ordered.

The agency says preliminary information suggests there may have been systemic issues affecting the flights. It cites media reports that passengers were unable to disembark and not served drinks or snacks on some tarmac delays, while other flights were delayed as long as 29 hours.

Sunwing says it shares the concerns expressed by customers and is looking forward to working with the CTA on this inquiry so that corrective actions can be implemented.

It says it recognizes that it fell short its level of customer service and is working to improve contingency planning, and is tightening up internal operations, scheduling and communications around extreme weather events.