A sub-contractor paralyzes the Montreal airport

Photo Courtesy
The plane to the right of the photo had to take off from Montreal on Saturday in the early afternoon, to Punta Cana. It is, in the end the party at midnight because no one was available to load the luggage of travellers (within the containers white to the left).

Camille Garnier

Monday, January 8, 2018 22:59

UPDATE
Monday, January 8, 2018 22:59

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Hundreds of travellers were stranded for several hours at the Montréal-Trudeau airport without being able to retrieve their luggage or to be loaded aboard their aircraft.

“I travel six times per year in the South and I’ve never seen it “, says Pierre Mongeon, who returned last Saturday from a trip to Punta Cana, in the dominican Republic, on a flight from the airline Sunwing.

Mr. Mongeon and his family landed at 20 h, but had to wait until midnight before I could finally retrieve their luggage and go home.

“There were people from several flights, it was almost 2000 to be expected and there was panic “,-he told on Monday.

Mr. Mongeon said that the passengers were not given clear explanations by staff of the airport.

“We first explained that it was the weather. Finally, an employee of customs told us that it was a problem with the sub-contractor who takes care of baggage handlers. “

Patrick Boulay, who had to leave Saturday for Punta Cana, also with the company Sunwing, has had a similar experience.

Patience

He was to leave for Montreal at 14: 40, but had to wait until midnight before boarding the plane.

“When we arrived at the check-in, at 11 am in the morning, we were told to wait because we could not take our suitcases to load. Then, the flight kept being delayed. “

Mr. Boulay says that the employees of the company seemed completely lost and had no explanations to give to the travelers.

“For two hours, we saw our luggage placed at the side of the plane without a person to pick them up. Just before we finally take off around midnight, an employee of the company told me that the baggage handlers of the sub-contractor had not reported for work. “

Contacted by e-mail, the company Swissport, which supports the luggage of the customers of Sunwing and most of the other airlines operating at Montréal-Trudeau, attributes these delays to the weather.

Extreme cold

The company explains that, in the case of extreme cold (it was around -25 degrees Celsius Saturday), the baggage handlers must take breaks to warm up, which can delay operations.

Swissport adds that flight irregularities and issues of planning are also involved in these delays.

“This is an unacceptable situation and there has been discussions with this company to ensure that it never happens again,” says Anne-Sophie Hamel, spokesperson for the company Aéroports de Montréal, which operates the airport Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau.