Air Transat defends its actions at stranded passenger inquiry

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).

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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 got 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’s CEO, pilots and flight directors have a several-hour time slot taking up much of the rest of the day’s inquiry schedule.

Air Transat flight safety director Matthew Jackson testifies at a Canadian Transportation Agency hearing in Ottawa on Aug. 31. (CBC)

Grounds 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.

Two Air Transat flights were able to leave with little delay, but the other two, TS 157 from Brussels and TS 507 from Rome, couldn’t do the same, Clark said.

She added that First Air Operations weren’t asked for food or water for those 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 got food and water to the two longest-delayed planes if they’d known how little there was on board. (CBC)

‘Creeping delay’

Clark said that if Air Transat had decided to get passengers off the planes, the flights wouldn’t have made it to their final destinations that night because it would have taken too long to get the passengers off and back on again.

As well, 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 they were 30 to 45 minutes away from getting fuel, Clark said, calling the situation a “creeping delay.”

Emergency crews surround an Air Transat flight that sat for hours at the Ottawa airport July 31. (Stephane Beaudoin/CBC)

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.”

Air Transat declined to question any of the passengers’ accounts Wednesday.

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.

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.”

Article source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/air-transat-inquiry-day-2-ottawa-airport-delays-1.4268836?cmp=rss