Sunwing denies the compensation of Toronto passengers after the crew safety authorization error

A client whose Sunwing flight was delayed after confusion with the safety authorization of a crew member is talking about difficulties in obtaining a compromise of the airline.

Sunwing blames Transport Canada for incorrectly canceling the airport safety badge of a crew member, causing a delay. He states that the delay was out of control and refuses to compensate for passengers.

Ian Cooper flew with Sunwing from Punta Cana to Toronto on December 20. He was returning home in a two -week vacation in the Dominican Republic when he heard his flight would be delayed. It landed almost six hours later than it was supposed.

Once he came home in Brampton, Ontario, he went to request compensation under the regulations for the protection of Canadian air passengers.

“The answer I received (Sunwing) was very badly written, saying that it is out of our control,” he said. “I thought, as, who wrote this? He is not doing anything that requires airlines to explain the delay.”

Sunwing’s message told Cooper that his trip home was interrupted because “a crew member can no longer operate the incoming flight due to circumstances outside the transport of the carrier and was out of the carrier’s control.” The airline informed him that it was not eligible for compensation.

Ian Cooper/Sent

A client whose Sunwing flight was delayed after confusion with the safety authorization of a crew member is talking about difficulties in obtaining a compromise of the airline.

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Sunwing blames Transport Canada for incorrectly canceling the airport safety badge of a crew member, causing a delay. He states that the delay was out of control and refuses to compensate for passengers.

Ian Cooper flew with Sunwing from Punta Cana to Toronto on December 20. He was returning home in a two -week vacation in the Dominican Republic when he heard his flight would be delayed. It landed almost six hours later than it was supposed. Once he came home in Brampton, Ontario, he went to request compensation under the regulations for the protection of Canadian air passengers.

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“The answer I received (Sunwing) was very badly written, saying that it is out of our control,” he told Daily Hive. “I thought, as, who wrote this? It is not doing anything that requires airlines to explain the delay. “

Sunwing’s message told Cooper that his trip home was interrupted because “a crew member can no longer operate the incoming flight due to circumstances outside the transport of the carrier and was out of the carrier’s control.” The airline informed him that it was not eligible for compensation.

Ian Cooper/Sent

Cooper continued with the airline and finally obtained a resolution agent to provide more details. In an email, Sunwing staff told Cooper that your flight was delayed due to crew safety authorization difficulties.

Sunwing blames Transport Canada for incorrectly canceling the safety authorization of the crew member

According to the airline, on December 20, the restricted identity authority of a member of the Sunwing Crew (RAIC) was confiscated by the Canada Air Transport Security Authority (Catsa) in Hamilton, Ontario.

The cards use biometric data to grant access to airlines crews to the restricted areas of the airport, and the program is administered by the authorities of Catsa, Transport Canada and Airport.

The crew member had to go to Pearson’s international airport near Toronto to discover the reason for confiscation and could not operate the flight that were supposed to be.

According to Sunwing, confiscation ended up being an administrative error of Canada Transport. Instead of processing the last transfer of the crew member, Transport Canada mistakenly canceled the identification card.

Sunwing said he had to return to customize the entire flight to Punta Cana on December 20, while the crew member resolved its safety authorization.

Cooper said the explanation made sense because when he finally addressed his flight, the staff on board mentioned that they had been called on a day free. But he does not believe that security confusion should avoid obtaining compensation for the delay.

“What happens if someone called sick at the last minute? At the end of the day, a crew problem is a crew problem,” he said. “But they are affirming that because it was customs, that it is out of control … I think that is absolutely false.”

Gábor Lukács, a defender of the rights of aerial passengers, believes that Sunwing should first compensate for passengers and then sue Transport Canada for the expenses incurred due to their supposed error.

“This is something about the control of the carrier,” Lukács said. “They are responsible for their crews and guarantee that crew members have adequate credentials.”

We communicate with Transport Canada, the Sunwing and Catsa media relationship team to comment. None responded before the publication.