Printer issue causes Winnipeg couple to miss flight, vacation rebooked

A Winnipeg couple was supposed to be flying off on a vacation to the Caribbean Wednesday morning, but they went nowhere, all because of a printer issue.

Debbie and Tom Glenewinkel should be on the beaches of Antigua enjoying their three-week vacation but instead, they're unpacking.

"We could not print our baggage tags. And this was the issue. The baggage tags were not printing," said Debbie.

She and her husband, along with other passengers with international connections were not allowed to board their WestJet flight. Then, two hours after arriving at the airport, the plane left without them.

The couple said they are angry and upset by what happened.

In a statement to CTV News Winnipeg, a spokesperson for WestJet said, "This morning we experienced a system-wide advanced passenger information system (APIS) issue.

"All inbound guests to the U.S. were affected and this was not an issue exclusive to WestJet but was experienced by all airlines travelling to the U.S. from Canada. Guests travelling on WS520, connecting through Toronto, en route to the U.S. were denied boarding in an effort to ensure they were not stranded in their connecting destination, as at the time they would not have been able to make it to their final destination," the statement said.

Passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs says he believes the current regulations need to be strengthened. He says there is a lack of enforcement of the current rules and they're too complex.

"It takes an unreasonable amount of resources and evidence to determine whether a passenger is or isn't entitled to compensation," said Lukacs.

Debbie and Tom were able to rebook their flight for Sunday and adjusted their accommodation plans in Antigua.

"We're very fortunate that friends are already down there, staying where we're going to be staying. So it isn't an issue for us to get a place," said Debbie.

WestJet told CTV News Winnipeg that all guests who were affected by the issue have now been re-accommodated.