WestJet Abandons Hundreds of Canadians in Puerto Vallarta

Hundreds of Canadian travellers are stuck in Puerto Vallarta hotels tonight. Some have been there nearly a week. WestJet cancelled their flights without warning, then basically vanished when people needed help getting home.

Families are scrambling to find places to stay, covering costs they never budgeted for (sound familiar?). And WestJet’s customer service? Good luck reaching anyone.

Canada’s airline regulator stepped in today. They’re launching a formal investigation into this mess that’s affected thousands of Canadians trying to get back from the popular Mexican resort.

WestJet Just Disappeared on People

Sarah Mitchell from Winnipeg’s been stuck at a Puerto Vallarta resort since February 24th. She’s got two young kids with her. WestJet cancelled her flight with just four hours notice. We covered a related angle in Toronto Police Warn of Tainted Drugs Behind.

“We’ve called the customer service line probably 200 times. Sometimes we get through after waiting three hours, sometimes the line just disconnects. They keep saying they’ll call us back, but nobody ever does. It feels like we’ve been completely abandoned.”

Mitchell isn’t the only one dealing with this. Social media’s blowing up with similar stories. Canadian families saying WestJet basically ghosted them after cancelling flights.

David Chen from Pembina Valley’s still stuck there with his family too. He called the whole thing a nightmare. “Airlines really let a lot of people down,” Chen said. He’s been trying for days to reach WestJet while hotel and meal costs just keep piling up.

Flights Getting Axed Left and Right

This all started going sideways in late February. WestJet began cancelling multiple daily flights between Puerto Vallarta and Canadian cities. Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver. You name it.

People say they got basically no information about why their flights got cancelled. Or when they might actually get home. Most were told flights were cancelled due to “operational reasons.” That’s it. No details.

Here’s what’s really getting people fired up though. WestJet apparently stopped putting passengers on other flights automatically.

Instead, they’re telling everyone to call customer service lines that either don’t work or hang up on you after hours of waiting.

There’s more to it than that.

The airline’s app and website? Also a disaster. People are getting error messages when they try to manage their bookings online.

The Money’s Adding Up Fast

These extended stays aren’t cheap (which, honestly, nobody saw coming). Puerto Vallarta hotels during peak season can run $300-400 a night. Many people booked all-inclusive packages, but now they’re paying out of pocket for everything extra.

Jennifer Wong from Toronto’s family got stuck at a Puerto Vallarta hotel. “The Canadian government and airlines left us scrambling,” Wong said. Her family’s been covering hotel extensions, meals, activities for the kids. All while waiting for WestJet to do something.

“We’ve spent an extra $2,800 so far just on hotel extensions and food. My kids are asking why we can’t go home. I don’t know what to tell them.”

Some passengers are racking up bills of $3,000 or more. They’re putting it on credit cards, dipping into emergency funds. For stays they never wanted in the first place.

Thing is, Canadian airline passenger rights say airlines have to cover reasonable accommodation and meal costs when they cancel flights for their own operational reasons. But passengers say WestJet won’t respond to requests for expense coverage.

Customer Service Just Collapsed

This might be the most maddening part. WestJet’s customer service basically doesn’t exist right now. Everyone’s reporting the same thing. Endless busy signals. Hold times that stretch for hours, then the line just cuts out.

Promises of callbacks that never happen.

Their social media accounts? Usually they’re pretty good at responding to complaints. Now they’re mostly silent on individual passenger problems. Just automated responses telling people to call those same phone numbers that don’t work.

Some people have given up and booked flights with other airlines. They’ll deal with WestJet refunds later. But there aren’t many other carriers flying the Puerto Vallarta route, so last-minute flights are running $1,200-1,500 per person.

Travel insurance is helping some folks who bought full policies. But a lot of people are finding out their basic coverage doesn’t handle extended hotel stays from airline screw-ups.

Read that again.

Government Finally Steps In

The Canadian Transportation Agency announced this morning they’re formally investigating these Puerto Vallarta flight disruptions. They’ve been getting hammered with passenger complaints. They’re looking at whether WestJet broke passenger rights rules. Specifically, failing to help stranded passengers and not covering reasonable expenses during these extended delays.

Here’s what airlines operating in Canada are supposed to do under federal rules: provide hotel rooms, meals, and transportation when they cancel flights for their own operational reasons. They have to rebook passengers on the next available flight, whether that’s with their airline or a competitor.

They’re also supposed to provide compensation. Anywhere from $400 to $1,000 for flight cancellations, depending on how long the delay is and what caused it.

But enforcement? That’s been pretty weak. The Transportation Agency has a massive backlog of passenger complaints. Getting resolution can take months, sometimes years. If you’re stranded in Puerto Vallarta right now, document everything. Keep all receipts for hotel bills, meals, any other costs caused by the flight cancellations.

What You Can Do If You’re Stuck

Save records of trying to reach WestJet. Call logs showing wait times, disconnections. Screenshots of error messages from their website or app. File complaints with both WestJet and the Canadian Transportation Agency. The CTA complaint process doesn’t cost anything and can result in compensation orders.

Just takes time.

If you book alternative flights to get home, you can try claiming those costs back from WestJet later. Though they’ll likely only reimburse the difference between what you originally paid and what you had to pay for the replacement flight.

This Keeps Happening

The Puerto Vallarta mess is just the latest example of airline service falling apart on Canadian travellers. Past few years have been brutal. Staff shortages, weather problems, “operational challenges” – whatever airlines want to call them – leading to widespread cancellations and delays.

Canadian airlines keep getting called out for how they handle passenger communications during these disruptions. The Transportation Agency has repeatedly cited airlines for not providing adequate help and information to stranded passengers.

WestJet’s had several high-profile breakdowns. Last summer they had a major system outage that left thousands of passengers stranded across North America.

The airline industry’s customer service setup clearly can’t handle the flood of calls and rebooking requests when things go sideways. Phone systems crash. Websites become unreliable. Passengers get left without information or help.

Right now, families still stuck in Puerto Vallarta are just waiting. Some are trying to make the best of this extended vacation they never wanted. Others are desperately trying to get home to jobs, school, other commitments.

The financial stress and uncertainty are wearing people down. And the bigger question is still hanging out there: when airlines fail this badly at basic customer service, what can passengers actually do about it?