Air Transat says it was focused on avoiding logistical and financial challenges the night passengers aboard two of its flights ended up stranded on the tarmac of the Ottawa International Airport for hours.
The inquiry into the passengers’ ordeal began Wednesday morning and is being overseen by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).
It was announced shortly after two Air Transat flights from Brussels and Rome were diverted from Montreal to Ottawa on July 31 because of poor weather.
After landing, passengers were kept aboard the planes for up to six hours, in some cases without air conditioning, food or water. Some passengers resorted to calling 911 for help.
‘No intention to remain in Ottawa’
Air Transat flight safety director Matthew Jackson testified Thursday he was working in the airline’s operations centre that night when “all hell broke loose” because of passing storms.
The airline was focused on getting passengers on the two delayed planes to their final destination in Montreal, he said, not on getting them a gate to get off the plane, which would have necessitated a crew change that would have kept the plane from continuing on that night.
It would have been a logistical and financial challenge — but not an impossibility — to stop in Ottawa, he said, adding that it would have taken hours to arrange hotels, and that they kept being told they’d get fuel in 15 to 30 minutes.
“There was no intention to remain in Ottawa,” he said.
‘I’m not deplaning on a runway for fun’
If passengers would have gotten out on the taxiway or runway, it would have been classified as an emergency and the airport would have shut down, Jackson said.
“The only way I’m going to let 360 people out on a runway is if … I have a fire onboard the aircraft or a bomb threat,” he said.
“I’m not deplaning on a runway for fun.”
He didn’t receive any request for water or snacks for those planes, he added, saying their policy is to keep the doors closed unless something is coming in and out.
Air Transat flight safety director Matthew Jackson testifies at a Canadian Transportation Agency hearing in Ottawa on Aug. 31. (CBC)
Crew disputes allegations
The pilot and flight director of flight TS507 from Rome both said they didn’t consider deplaning or requesting more food as potential options because they were repeatedly told they were 30 minutes away from refuelling and leaving Ottawa.
Pilot Yves Saint-Laurent, who lives in Ottawa, called the situation frustrating and uncomfortable, and said he would have tried to get passengers off the plane if he knew delays would be more than 90 minutes.
He said he thought waiting for fuel was a lesser evil, as it could have taken five to six hours for everyone to get off the plane, get onto buses and get through customs, in addition to possibly causing further delays.
Besides, Saint-Laurent said, no passengers asked him to get off. Flight director Julie Clermont said the same thing.
TS507 eventually spent five hours on the Ottawa airport’s tarmac, with passengers telling the hearing there was no air conditioning on board and people were throwing up from the heat and anxiety.
Saint-Laurent said otherwise, claiming the air conditioning was working for all but a minute or two when they were on the ground.
The pilot added he was surprised to see all the media attention the next day, since most of the passengers thanked him as they left the plane in Montreal.
Clermont also said she didn’t feel it was too warm in the plane and noted the washrooms were working at all times, with toilet paper available.
Ground crew wasn’t asked for supplies
Thursday’s hearing began at 9 a.m. with testimony from three ground contractors who work with Air Transat to set up fuelling, catering, customs, loading bags and other services.
On Day 1 of the hearing, the Ottawa International Airport Authority said many of the issues that caused problems July 31 were the responsibility of the airline and its ground contractors, neither of which asked the authority for help.
Carol Clark from First Air Operations said Thursday there were a lot of “irregular operations” on July 31 with a lot of activity, but that staffing levels were more suitable for a normal day.
She said First Air Operations weren’t asked for food or water for those two Air Transat planes.
“From what I can tell, we were assuming there was enough water on the airplane. If not, water would have been granted,” she said.
Carol Clark from First Air, the ground contractor for Air Transat in Ottawa, said they would have gotten food and water to the two longest-delayed planes if they’d known how little there was on board. (CBC)
Clark said ground crews couldn’t service the two planes because they were on the taxiway, and then moved to a more remote area to be refuelled on the other end of the airport from where their equipment was.
The fuel company kept telling them too they were 30 to 45 minutes away from getting fuel, Clark said, calling the situation a “creeping delay.”
Treatment was ‘deplorable’
On the first day of the inquiry, flyers testified that Air Transat’s handling of the situation was “deplorable” and that the airline’s actions made them feel like “luggage.”
The CTA does not have the power to change government policy, but public consultations on the broader question of air passengers’ rights are expected once Bill C-49, otherwise known as the Transportation Modernization Act, is passed.
This hearing focuses on whether or not Air Transat followed its “tariff,” or agreement with passengers, which is supposed to allow them to get off planes that have spent 90 minutes on the ground.
Clermont, the flight director of TS507 from Rome, said she wasn’t aware of the tariff. Saint-Laurent, the pilot, said he was aware of the tariff, but it wasn’t included in his training.
The agency can order Air Transat to compensate passengers for out-of-pocket expenses and take other corrective measures.
Air Transat has already offered to give each passenger aboard the Brussels flight $400 after the air conditioning malfunctioned. The company called the offer “a gesture of good faith.”
Emergency crews surround an Air Transat flight that sat for hours at the Ottawa airport July 31. (Stephane Beaudoin/CBC)
Article source: http://www.usmagazine.com/stylish/pictures/met-gala-2017-best-beauty-trend-bobs-w480196
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