Waterloo Region residents still stuck in Punta Cana, have trips cancelled due to Sunwing woes

While some travellers are still trying to get home, other Sunwing customers will never get to go on their vacations. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte explains.

Several Sunwing Airlines customers are still stuck in Punta Cana waiting to come back to Waterloo Region, while others eagerly waited to start vacation until it was cancelled by Sunwing altogether.

Balazs Igli, a Breslau resident, was supposed to fly to Punta Cana on Monday from the Region of Waterloo Internation Airport. After days of delays by Sunwing, he got a heartbreaking update Tuesday night.

“Got an email, and they just said your trip is cancelled altogether,” he told CTV News.

His family’s suitcases are still packed but now they’re back at work and school as they don’t want to waste vacation days.

“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for the whole family,” Igli said. “We weren’t ready for school, didn’t have lunches. Our fridge is basically empty.”

He is expecting a full refund but admitted he feels worse for those on the other end trying to get home.

Stuck in Punta Cana

Elie Nafekh is stuck in Punta Cana and has been trying to get back to the regional airport on his Sunwing flight since Monday, along with a group of other locals.

“Most of us waited to up to 14 hours before we found out we were being sent to another resort,” he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the arrivals board at YKF airport listed the flight as cancelled.

In Punta Cana, travellers said they were getting different stories. Some said they heard a plane was coming for them from Sunwing so they went to the airport in Punta Cana but as the day went on, that seemed more unlikely.

“We’re going to have to go on our own dime and figure out how we’re going to get home at some point, especially if tomorrow, it’s cancelled again,” said Nafekh.

In a statement to CTV Kitchener on Tuesday, Sunwing said they’ve been working to recover operations following last week’s storm and the heavy weekend snowfall.

On Wednesday, CTV Kitchener reached out to Sunwing for an update after more delays.

This statement was provided by Sunwing Media:

“Sunwing Airlines has made the necessary decision to cancel several southbound flights that will be departing from Toronto Pearson International Airport on February 19 and February 20 to prioritize the safe return of customers currently delayed in destinations due to recent weather disruptions, crew availability constraints and extremely limited hotel capacity. This difficult but essential operational decision allows us to redirect our resources toward bringing delayed customers home as quickly and safely as possible. We sincerely apologize for the disruption, and our team continues to work diligently to minimize further impact on our operations and support affected passengers, including those travelling home to Kitchener-Waterloo, who will be notified of any updates to their flights.”

It’s not just people coming back from the Dominican to Waterloo Region who are having trouble. Sunwing flights across the country are showing delays and cancellations.

Sunwing posted a travel advisory on its website on Wednesday.

The advisory said that Sunwing Vacations customers with flights scheduled to depart between Feb. 13 and 19 that have experienced flight delays of more than 24 hours have been given the option to either travel on rescheduled flights, make a one-time change to their departure date, or cancel their travel plans altogether.