Canada’s aviation regulator will investigate the latest plane crash in Puerto Vallarta
Canada’s aviation regulator says it will investigate the latest plane crash in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Canadian airlines abruptly suspended operations in the popular tourist city on Sunday, following violence in parts of Mexico after government forces killed a popular gang leader.
While the carriers have resumed service, days later, some passengers are still waiting to get home – although Canadian airlines are obliged to ensure that their customers continue their journey as soon as possible, with certain obligations in circumstances beyond their control.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) says it will investigate the disruption, and whether the airlines have fulfilled their obligations to their customers in Mexico.
“This includes gathering evidence to ensure that airlines meet all the requirements set forth in applicable laws and regulations related to this event,” CTA said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
The CTA says its investigation could lead to notices of violations, as well as administrative financial penalties.
The administrator said that investigations of this type are extensive and their length depends on their severity and other factors.
A WestJet customer is waiting to get home
As of Tuesday, more than 61,000 Canadians in Mexico have registered their presence in the country with Global Affairs Canada. That number grew from 18,000 on Sunday, the day of the violence.
Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) require airlines to rebook passengers within a 48-hour window, free of charge, when a delay or cancellation occurs due to circumstances beyond the airline’s control.
And if that’s not possible, major airlines like Flair must get passengers involved on any flight on any airline, including on one of the airlines, if such an option exists.
However, CBC News has heard from several Canadian travelers who have been waiting four days or more to leave Mexico since last Sunday’s events.
Calm has begun to return to Mexico following the killing of a powerful cartel leader known as El Mencho, but travel advisories remain in place and Canadians are waiting for flights to resume. Meanwhile, Mexico’s president said authorities had tracked down a drug kingpin to launch an operation that left about 30 cartel members and 25 soldiers dead.
Norma Jean Adzich of Smithers, BC, is among the Canadians waiting to return home from Mexico, along with a friend.
Adzich and his friend had finished their stay last Sunday afternoon and were supposed to fly home with WestJet from Puerto Vallarta, but their flight was canceled during the chaos.
Adzich said it took more than 24 hours to contact the airline to try to rebook.
“We had to speak up to get tickets,” Adzich told CBC News on Friday.
In the end, Adzich said WestJet finally rebooked the two friends on a return flight on March 1 — a week after their first day of travel.
Adzich questions whether that was too soon for WestJet to get them home, and how much the airline cares about its stranded customers right now.
“Like, did they really put effort into it or did they just randomly pick a date and hope for the best kind of thing?” he asked.
CBC News contacted WestJet on Thursday for comment on Adzich’s case. The airline requested more information about passenger bookings on Friday in order to “provide a full response,” but did not respond to further information by the end of the day.
The company sent a message to X earlier in the week saying “we continue to monitor the ongoing situation in Mexico, with safety as our priority.”
CBC News will update this file if the airline provides a response.
Ontarians Douglas Connors and Alexandru Sonoc recently spent three weeks visiting Puerto Vallarta and were similarly scheduled to fly home last Sunday – their flight with Flair Airlines was also canceled that day.
The couple told CBC News that Flair first put them on the plane on March 3 – more than a week after their scheduled departure on February 22.
They pointed to the APPR and the fact that Flair’s proposed rebooking did not meet its requirements.
Flair’s website has a help center that includes a page with information on passenger rights, rebooking and assistance for disrupted flights, and compensation eligibility.
That page appeared to have recently removed a reference to the option for passengers to rebook themselves on flights with another airline, free of charge, when Flair can rebook within 48 hours.
The airline confirmed that it had changed the language on the page in question, calling it outdated.
“We have revised the wording to ensure that it accurately reflects our current policies.”
Sonoc and Connors ended up booking a flight home on Air Canada, on their own, after unsuccessful attempts to rebook with Flair.
“We’re feeling very relieved as we’re on our way home,” Connors said on WhatsApp on Thursday afternoon, as he and Sonoc waited to board their flight.
They said they intend to file a complaint with the CTA.
Days after the killing of a notorious drug cartel leader sparked violence and chaos, Mexican soldiers are now roaming Puerto Vallarta. CBC’s Jorge Barrera joins the Mexican military flying over the city in a Blackhawk helicopter.
Marina Pavlović, a professor in the faculty of law at the University of Ottawa, said the CTA acts as a regulator and arbitrator in matters related to aviation.
And because of that, it is “in their power to conduct an independent investigation” into the issues that have unfolded in Mexico.
But he notes that the CTA was already facing a huge backlog of complaints — even before the Mexican investigation began.
