Christmas looked a little different this year for me. I traded in the snow-covered fields of southwestern Ontario, the holiday lights on my quiet street and the hustle and bustle of last-minute Christmas shopping for the sandy beaches of paradise, also known as Mazatlán, Mexico.
My sister and I decided to take a last-minute vacation to celebrate my 25th birthday in early December and her golden birthday in January. ‘A trip of a lifetime’ people told us. And boy, was it one I won’t forget. But I’ll get to that later.
The day arrives for us to leave. We woke up at the totally insane time of 2 a.m. in order to make the drive from Listowel to Toronto and have enough time to navigate the airport, customs, etc. to ensure we were ready for our flight at 8:15 a.m. I received an alert at 2:30 a.m. the flight was delayed until 9 a.m. Great. We still made our way down to Toronto and had a very early breakfast in a very deserted Denny’s. Another alert. Our flight is delayed again until 1 p.m. Even better (sense the sarcasm?). I wanted out of cold Toronto and into warm Mexico.
We got to the airport where the line for Sunwing Airlines was an hour long just to check in. We waited, and waited only to get to the front of the line and be told we’re too early for our flight and had to go to the back of the line and wait another 30 minutes until we could check in.
We finally got through check in and customs, and were on the other side. We wait at our gate, eager to get in the air, when an attendant announces the plane is delayed another hour, until 2 p.m. Now keep in mind, this is before the ‘storm of the century’ as my dad called it, that happened in Ontario around Christmas. So these delays were unexpected to say the least, but definitely foreshadowed the upcoming Sunwing fiasco that was to take place in a matter of days.
We finally boarded the plane at 2 p.m. and were flying high on our way to paradise. We arrived in Mazatlán in the early evening, where we were greeted by warm tropical breezes and a cotton candy-coloured sky. I took a breath of the air and was ready for a week in Mexico.
Now, I won’t make you green with envy by retelling all the wonderful things we did, the amazing weather we had, and the unforgettable memories I made with one of my favourite people in this world, all while Listowel got pounded with snow and ice. But I will tell you the three things I learned about myself on this trip. Number one: Turns out, I really love tequila. Number two: I’m super glad I took that Spanish class in university. And number three: I adapt better than I thought I would when things don’t go according to plan. That one I learned the hard way.
On what we thought was our last night in Mexico, my sister and I were enjoying some sushi when a couple from our flight to Mazatlán approached us asking if we had heard about the delay to our upcoming flight. We were supposed to leave the next day at 12:20 p.m. Our flight said it was now delayed 24 hours, until Dec. 28. We were to talk to the Sunwing representative in the hotel lobby on Dec. 27 to get some answers. And that is when this whole thing started to get messy.
We were greeted by an angry mob of people confronting the Sunwing representative. We heard stories of people from Kelowna, B.C. being trapped there for a week, and being told they’ll leave tomorrow, then no flight home, then being told tomorrow, then no flight home. A vicious cycle for an entire week! Another mother had been stuck at our hotel for five days, with no end in sight. This is when we started to get nervous.
We were told that Sunwing had been lying to people and indefinitely delaying flights. This is when all the speculation started. “Sunwing is going under!” “Get out before it’s too late!” We heard it all. We started diving into it a little deeper, and it looked like thousands were stranded alongside us all over Mexico and other tropical countries. Oh boy. But our flight was leaving tomorrow, right?
Well tomorrow comes, and we were to meet in the lobby at 8:30 a.m. We arrive and are told to come back at 12 p.m. The Sunwing guy greets us and tells us “I guarantee you are going home today!” We board the bus to take us an hour to the airport. When we got there, our Sunwing rep got a call. He then explains that the plane may be delayed or cancelled altogether.
Now this is where people’s worst sides came out. There was almost a fist fight on the bus, people yelling, babies crying, a total nightmare. They said we had to wait an hour to see if it would be cancelled or delayed. We got food vouchers as compensation, $15US (Yippee…). Tensions were high and my sister and I tried to make the best of the situation by grabbing some chicken tenders at Carl’s Jr. Then, disaster struck.
The plane that was supposed to take us back to Toronto switched locations and was now taking people back to Vancouver. Flight cancelled. Luckily, they said they would take us back to our hotels where we could sleep a night until our next flight. When asked when the next flight to Toronto was, no one could provide answers. So, exhausted and disappointed we bussed an hour back to our hotel where our entire day was wasted in hopeful agony. We counted our blessings that night, as many other travellers in the same position had been stuck at airports for days. It seemed indefinite that we were staying in Mexico.
Finally, at 10 p.m. we got a mysterious call from the front desk saying to be in the lobby for 7 a.m. the next morning to go to the airport. When we asked for flight details, they could not tell us anything. Well, we thought, here we go again.
After a sleepless night of tossing and turning, we returned to the lobby with bags packed, hopeful today was the day. There was no flight information given to us, no plane recorded coming to Mazatlán, nothing. I thought Sunwing was going to lead us on a wild goose chase again. I know what you’re thinking, “A few extra days in Mexico, how can she be complaining?” But let me tell you, at this point, it wasn’t a vacation anymore. We were frustrated, feeling trapped, and wasting our days in unknowing misery. There were rumours running rampant that we might not get home until January at this point, and seeing so many other trapped vacationers, it seemed hopeless.
And as 8 a.m. rolls around and no bus in sight, we started to lose hope. But that day, we would have a back-up plan. We found an American Airlines flight that was leaving that same day, with a layover in Dallas. It would be 10 hours before we were home, compared to Sunwing’s five-hour direct flight, but I vowed to my sister we were leaving today, no matter what. Whether I had to bribe a Mexican cartel with my vital organs, I didn’t care. I wanted to go home.
All of a sudden, at 8:15 a.m. a bus arrives, with everyone in a tizzy. We got onto the bus and asked what time the flight was leaving, to which we were given no answers, and were told we had to wait till we got to the airport. But we had to be quick. We all waited anxiously, hoping today would be the day of our great escape from Mexico. We arrived at the airport to check the flight board. A plane leaving from Mazatlán to Toronto! Yay! Departure time, 9 a.m. Current time, 9:06 a.m. Oh no! We rushed to the Sunwing check-in desk where they say they’ve held the plane and are waiting for us. Just our luck!
Now, when I tell you I have never been through an airport so fast in my entire life, I’m telling you the truth. We checked in, went through customs, found our gate and boarded our plane within 14 minutes. Fourteen minutes! Once I arrived at my seat, I saw the plane was only three quarters full. About five minutes after we boarded, the captain came on the speaker saying that he was no longer waiting for any more passengers and was closing the doors. Apparently, three people who checked in got left behind in Mazatlán.
As I sat, looking at loads of empty seats, I wondered what was the issue with waiting a few minutes more? Why couldn’t Sunwing try to get as many people home as possible? I couldn’t fathom the thought of being the ones left behind. But, we were the lucky ones. Once we were in the air, I had a sigh of relief. We were finally going home. We were only trapped for an extra three days, but what of those people trapped a week? My heart goes out to them, stuck in paradise waiting to get home.
I can now say I have survived the Sunwing fiasco of December 2022 and lived to tell the tale.
***
Melissa Dunphy is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with Midwestern Newspapers.
