TULUM- A relaxing vacation in Mexico transformed into a frustrating ordeal for over 100 Canadian travelers. They spent 3 days stranded between resorts and the airport with minimal communication from their airline, WestJet (WS).
On Saturday, March 29, 2025, a hydraulic issue on the right side of the plane caused the flight to face multiple delays before being completely cancelled fourteen hours later. Flight WS4222 from Tulum (TQO) to Calgary (YYC), Canada, faced another delay on Monday, March 31, but eventually took off after about 45 minutes.
Photo: By Ken Fielding/https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72761268WestJet Passengers Stuck in Mexico
Passengers boarded three buses and traveled 80 kilometers north to the Barcelo resort complex. Upon arrival, confusion dominated the scene.
Despite the confusion, he acknowledged that resort staff made considerable efforts to accommodate the unexpected arrival of nearly 200 people.
On Sunday, March 30, the passengers returned to Tulum Airport (TQO), completed check-in procedures, and boarded their plane. After waiting approximately 45 minutes, passengers noticed ground crews removing their luggage from the aircraft.
The pilot then announced that the mechanical issues remained unresolved. Adding to the complications, it was uncertain whether the small airport would have staff available when the plane was finally ready for departure.
“The pilot informed us he had to argue with the Tulum airport because they wanted us to sleep on the airplane overnight. No food, no water on the airplane.”
Bryce Drohan, WestJet Passenger & Calgary Resident
Passengers endured a repeat of the previous day’s events, again with virtually no communication from WestJet (WS).
“Eventually we got back on the buses, transported another hour and a half back to Barcelo—the same place we were less than 18 hours previous. Again, no information,” Drohan said. No officials provided clear answers about when they would return home.
“I feel that I can’t rely on WestJet and that they don’t have a vested interest in taking care of their clientele. They just want our money, and once they got it, then it’s a third-party’s problem, and they’re all arguing with each other.”
Drohan stated on Monday while en route to the airport for a third departure attempt
Canadians trapped for the second day in Tulum. Please Canada send help. We have been trapped for nearly two days no communication from west jet just deboarded again after no food no water no word. @westjet@cbc@ctv@globalnews@global@canada pic.twitter.com/EEtKosOrxT
— Bryce drohan (@Westjetsucks202) March 31, 2025
Passenger Concerns
Many passengers joined a group chat to express their concerns. These ranged from lost wages due to missing work to shortages of essential items like medication and diapers for children.
Drohan emphasized that while he understands that unexpected issues can arise, WestJet’s handling of the situation particularly disappointed him.
“I can get the delays. I understand mechanical issues. I understand airports timing out. But my biggest thing is no communication. Like really? You just expect us to figure this stuff out on our own? How does that make sense?” said Drohan.
Photo- FlyingJay Photography; Wikimedia Commons“The way the government currently behaves indirectly encourages this type of shabby corporate conduct because it is far more economical, far cheaper for WestJet to break the law than to comply with it.”
Gábor Lukács, Canadian Air Passenger Rights Advocate & President of Air Passenger Rights
Gábor Lukács criticized the federal government for failing to hold airlines accountable.
He explained that if the issue was mechanical, the airline should, at minimum, provide meals and accommodations while rebooking passengers on another of its flights with a partner airline within nine hours of the original departure time or purchase tickets with a competitor airline.
WestJet Passengers at Tulum; Photo Compiled By Aviation A2ZAirline’s Response
WestJet (WS), owned by Toronto-based private equity firm Onex Corporation since 2019, issued a written statement instead of answering specific questions about the incident.
“We are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience WestJet guests experienced in Tulum. We can confirm that there were multiple cancellations due to unscheduled maintenance… We understand how frustrating it is when travel does not go as planned, and we appreciate our guests’ patience as we worked to complete the required maintenance and return the aircraft to service.”
WestJet Statement on Monday Night
Flight WS4222 from Tulum (TQO) to Calgary (YYC) faced another delay on Monday afternoon but eventually took off after about 45 minutes and was scheduled to land in Calgary around 10 p.m. local time.
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