Passengers detail nightmare Air Transat flight from Italy

After a flight full of Canadians was left stranded on a tarmac for hours in Rome, many passengers are demanding answers from Air Transat. Adrian Ghobrial takes another look at what your rights are when you travel.

By News Staff

The Air Passenger Bill of Rights is supposed to protect you against any problems outside an airlines control and that has a plane full of people who just flew home from Italy asking questions.

Dozens of passengers on Air Transat flight 9309 were reportedly left on a plane for six hours without air conditioning and minimal water Monday.

The plane heading to Toronto from Rome was unable to take off do to mechanical issues. The flight was rescheduled for Tuesday, but was reportedly delayed at least another three hours.

Passengers tell CityNews they felt left in the dark throughout the ordeal. They said they were giving only snacks and two cups of water while they waited six hours for the sweltering aircraft to regain power.

Passengers claim it was over 40 degrees in the plane and there was no air conditioning.

“We weren’t allowed to pass the stairs onto the tarmac. It was absolutely horrendous. And they put us in a garbage hotel, terrible accommodations,” said Brian Costa, a passenger on the flight.

A group of 40 students heading home from school trip were also among the passengers.

Canada’s new passenger bill of rights states that after a three-hour tarmac delay a plane must return to the gate. However, the new three-hour rule only pertains to flights at Canadian airports.

Passengers said Air Transat has agreed to compensate them about 600 euros for the inconvenience.

CityNews reached out to Air Transat for comment, but has yet to hear back.

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