A Vancouver woman says she almost got stuck in Montreal after her flight was cancelled due to Monday's plane crash in Toronto.
Vancouverite Steph Djaja was in Montreal with her friend and planned to fly to Vancouver via Toronto with Porter Airlines on Monday, Feb. 17. Before she went to the Montreal International Airport, Porter Airlines emailed and texted her, just before 5 p.m. EST, to say flights to Toronto and Vancouver were cancelled and the airline would book them on the next available flight.
"We received an email confirmation about 15 minutes later informing us that we had been re-booked on another flight two days later, on Wednesday morning, going to Toronto City Airport, then Ottawa and finally Vancouver (we were both booked on different flights out of Montreal)," she told V.I.A.
Since this wasn't ideal, the travellers looked to see if they could change the flight to another one leaving the same night or the next day. Flights to Vancouver were sold out on Tuesday and the only flight they found that didn't involve long layovers was a direct flight leaving Wednesday evening around 6.30 p.m., Djaja explained.
Djaja and her travelling companion decided to go to the airport to speak directly to an agent to see if any flights departed before Wednesday. The airport lines were long but they eventually talked to an agent around 7:15 p.m.
"The agent said he might be able to get us on a flight that night but he said we would have to bolt to the gate," she noted. "He specifically said, 'When I say bolt, I mean actually bolt.' I asked him what time the plane was leaving and he said: 'Right now!'
"He took us to security and I was running with my suitcase in hand."
Once they past through security they "bolted to the gates," as they heard their names being called to come immediately.
"We eventually make it to the plane and got back to Vancouver last night," she said.
Thousands of cancelled flights due to Toronto plane crash
Numerous travellers headed on flights to or from Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on Monday faced delays and cancellations following a plane crash.
A Delta Air Lines plane heading from Minneapolis to Toronto crashed and flipped on the tarmac at Pearson airport on Monday afternoon, injuring multiple passengers.
Greater Toronto Airports Authority President and CEO Deborah Flint told reporters that the airport is in "recovery mode" after hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed because of the crash and two winter storms that hit the region in the days leading up to it.
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) commented on the incident in a post on X, advising travellers that flights may continue to be delayed or cancelled over the next 24 hours. Air passengers should check their flight status directly with their airline or online with YVR before they leave for the airport.
Other travellers also faced delays and cancellations due to the incident in Toronto.
@AmericanAir My ORD-YYZ flight was canceled due to “airspace & traffic restrictions” after I already faced a weather-related cancellation. Now, no flights till Thursday, no hotel, and no compensation. This has caused major financial & mental stress.
— Syed Ali (@ZatSyed) February 18, 2025
Here’s my last 24ish hours: Yesterday my Porter flight to Toronto from Newark got cancelled, so my options were to wait until Wednesday morning to fly to Ottawa and then Toronto or figure out something else. Flights around New York back Toronto were canceled or too expensive.
— Paul Ross (@RealPaulRoss) February 19, 2025
@AmericanAir I've been on hold for an hour and haven't even spoken to a single person yet. A flight I put on hold and had until tonight at 11:59 to pay for was somehow canceled and tickets have gone up nearly $100 for the flights I reserved.
— Ariel Melendez (@a_melendez10) February 19, 2025
Thanks a lot @WestJet for doing the bare minimum so that you do not have to refund us. Our flight got canceled last night and the options that we’re given so they do not have to refund was fly us all over Canada with 12h of layovers before flying into Cancun. Loosing 2.5 days.
— Josh Aubin (@aubie33) February 18, 2025
With files from The Canadian Press.
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