Image: Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock.com
Passengers on an Air Transat flight to Montreal were stranded in Ottawa for more than six hours on the tarmac inside a plane where the temperatures reached an unbearable heat.
Footage has emerged from inside the cabin of passengers standing in the aisles of the grounded plane, fanning themselves with the emergency instruction cards and looking distressed.
The air conditioning was not functioning properly and the plane had run out of water.
Olivier Alfieri, a passenger on the flight, told CTV News the air conditioning wasn’t working, making the plane very hot and it became difficult to breathe.
“Babies were crying, at least one person vomited and passengers were repeatedly refused their request to deplane and wait in the airport,” Alfieri said.
He adds that after about four hours on the tarmac, someone called 911, prompting paramedics and police to board the plane who distributed water and opened the doors.
Ottawa Airport’s response to a twitter user asking for an update after sitting on the sweltering plane for five hours was that it is “up to the airline to determine whether to deplane or wait it out when a flight diverts.”
Air Transat said, “Ottawa Airport’s version of events is not consistent with ours. We will continue our investigation and come back with the facts as soon as possible.”
“In any case, our passengers experienced genuine discomfort for which we are sincerely sorry.”
According to an Air Transat statement published by Kelowna Now, passengers were unable to disembark the plane as there were no stairs or loading bridges available to them.
The plane diverted due to poor weather conditions in Montreal.
People took to Twitter to vent their frustration about the situation.
The incident will hopefully lead to improved practices at airports.