Stranded in Manchester: Air Canada flight to Toronto delayed by 48 hours

TORONTO — Air Canada is taking heat from passengers spending two unexpected days in Manchester, England.

The flight to Toronto was scheduled to leave on Friday, but Air Canada says the 197 passengers will have to wait until Sunday.

One person tweeted “horrendous experience. Stuck in Manchester for 2 days and no one has been in contact to tell us what’s going on.”

Another tweet to Air Canada said “A second night in Manchester … due to more flight delays. AirCanada this is not how to treat your passengers.”

Manchester residents Melanie Best and her husband had booked the flight with plans to attend a wedding celebration in Toronto. In an email to The Canadian Press late Saturday night a frustrated Best described their long and trying ordeal.

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She said they boarded the plane Friday after a two hour delay, then sat on the tarmac for the next five hours while mechanics tried unsuccessfully to fix a hydraulic pump. After the flight was finally cancelled the passengers were put up in a hotel and instructed to return to the airport the following day. 

However, after checking in again Saturday morning Best said repeated delays kept she and the other passengers stuck in the airport lounge until the early evening.

“Come 6 p.m. passengers were getting really stressed and angry and all gathering by customer information demanding more information,” she said.

According to Best the passengers were told that the plane had finally been repaired and would be leaving at 8 p.m. But after departure time came and went, the passengers were then informed the flight had once again — this time due to flight crew issues — been cancelled, and rescheduled for Sunday around noon.

“At this point people were crying and disgusted beyond belief,” she said. 

An Air Canada spokeswoman called it an “unfortunate situation” caused by mechanical problems and crew duty restrictions.

Isabelle Arthur said Saturday in an email that the airline will contact the passengers directly regarding compensation for having their travel plans disrupted.

“We have a team working around the clock behind the scene to ensure we can get them to their final destination as soon as it is safe to so do,” she said.

The Canadian Press