The Ottawa Airport Authority has issued a statement, after more than 300 passengers remained stuck on an Air Transat flight for nearly six hours Monday, refuting a statement the airline provided.
A flight from Brussels, Belgium to Montreal had to be diverted to the Ottawa Airport due to inclement weather. The Air Transat flight in question landed at 5:10 p.m. Monday, according to the Airport Authority. It was one of 20 flights the Airport Authority said had to be diverted.
The 336 passengers aboard remained on the plane until it left at 11:00 p.m. However, the plane had at one point lost electricity and air conditioning. Passengers reported nauseous children and one eventually called 911.
In a statement provided to CTV News, Air Transat said, as a result of exceptional level of traffic at the airport, Ottawa Airport staff were “unable to provide loading bridges or stairs that would have enabled the passengers to disembark.”
But the Airport Authority said in a general statement issued Tuesday afternoon that they were never asked for bridges or stairs.
“We had a gate available and air stairs ready in the event that the airline decided to deplane. We also had buses on the tarmac ready to shuttle passengers to the terminal – buses the Authority purchased specifically for situations such as this,” The statement said. “Neither the ground handling service nor the airline requested either of these during the event.”
The statement goes on to say that an emergency response was activated following a 911 call at 9:00 p.m. Ottawa Police and Paramedics and the Airport Emergency Response Service attended the plane. One passenger was treated. The Authority says they then provided the passengers with fans and bottled water, and even checked on a passenger’s kenneled dog to make sure it was in no danger.
The Airport Authority says it is “disappointed that Air Transat has not been forthcoming, transparent or accountable with information concerning their diverted flights.”
It says the responsibility for deciding when a flight needs to be deplaned rests entirely with the airline.