Sunwing flight delays leaves Kenora woman grounded in Cuba

A Kenora woman vacationing in Cuba is one of thousands of travellers experiencing delays after a holiday destination airline experienced system issues.

Tania Cameron is not complaining about an extra day at her resort in Cuba, but does say it added stress to her holiday. She and her sister-in-law were set to takeoff back to for Winnipeg via Sunwing Airlines around 7 p.m. Tuesday night.

 She was told Tuesday morning her flight would be delayed for the first time.

“We were a little anxious this morning not knowing what our day and our night is going to look like,” Camron said in an interview with CTV News.

At noon on Tuesday she went to check out and spoke to a Sunwing representative who told her the flight was now moved to 7 p.m. the next day.

“I’m not complaining, it was just a surprise. I’m just glad we’re not saying at the airport," Cameron said.

She is one of thousands of travellers affected.

A statement from Sunwing Airlines to CTV News says the delays are due to a system outage with their checking service provider.

It says it is working with the affected service provider and relevant authorities to resolve the issue.

The Canadian federal government has regulations in place for travellers affected by flight delays. This could include covering food, communication methods, and lodging. Travellers could also be compensated up to $1,000.

CAA Manitoba said travel insurance is needed for other possible costs such as lost luggage or medical issues.

“I think travel insurance is more important than ever so we really advocate for travel insurance health insurance for travel and trip cancellation interruption if that applies to your trip,” CAA Regional Manager Susan Postma said. “We really advocate don’t leave the province without it.”

Postma said they have recently seen an uptick in travel demand.

“We really are seeing a lot of preplanning. A lot of the planning that we are seeing is looking into that back half of 2022. We are seeing winter destination inquiries now, people looking for 2023.”

Nick Hays, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Airports Authority, said while travel is not at pre-pandemic levels, it is increasing.

He said one day during spring break they had approximately 9,000 passengers at the airport which was, “a big improvement relative to what we’ve been seeing.”