Travellers Invited to Join Class-Action Lawsuit Against Sunwing After Massive Flight Delays, Cancellations

Travellers wait in line at a Sunwing Airlines check-in desk at Trudeau Airport in Montreal, in a file photo. Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press

A law firm is looking at potentially starting a class action lawsuit against Sunwing Airlines for Canadian travellers who were affected by the company’s sudden cancellation of flights in Saskatchewan, days after the Christmas holiday.

Sunwing announced on Dec. 29, 2022, that it was cancelling the flights at airports in Saskatoon and Regina due to “extenuating circumstances.” The cancellations went into immediate effect and applied to flights from both airports up until Feb. 3, 2023.

The company has been struggling over the past few weeks to bring passengers home after a severe winter storm disrupted its operations over the holidays. In a string of Twitter posts on Jan. 3, the company said it has completed “all scheduled recovery flights,” and that “any further scheduling changes are unrelated to the holiday disruptions.”

In a statement, Merchant Law Group LLP is inviting affected Sunwing customers to join the class action.

This applies to travellers who experienced a“flight cancellation or delay of more than 9 hours, which cannot be attributed [to] weather issues or aircraft safety, between the dates of December 22, 2022, to February 3, 2023, anywhere in Canada.”

It also applies to travellers who experienced a“ trip cancellation, rerouting or delay of more than 9 hours, due to Sunwing’s blanket cancellation of its Saskatchewan routes,” during that same period of time.

Merchant Law said the lawsuit would seek financial compensation “for the inconvenience or losses experienced by individual travellers.” Details of the class action will be revealed in the coming months, it said.

Merchant Law operates 10 offices across Canada, with lawyers practising law in six provinces.

‘Incredibly Sorry’

Amid criticism from the public and governments, Sunwing issued an apology to passengers who were left stranded after the storm, saying the company had “clear failures in execution,” particularly in relation to weather-related delays.

“We are incredibly sorry for letting our customers down,” reads the letter, issued on Jan. 5, by Sunwing Travel Group CEO Stephen Hunter and Sunwing Airlines president Len Corrado, noting however that “most of our customers enjoyed their holidays with minimal disruption.”

The company said it will “ensure full compliance” with obligations under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations, and is accepting “eligible claims for compensation.” Selected customers who travelled between Dec. 24 to Dec. 27, 2022, may also submit receipts related to expenses incurred at destination, including expenses to purchase necessities due to baggage delays at the Toronto Pearson Airport.