Toronto women stranded in Trinidad after over 90 pilot sick calls cancel Caribbean Airlines flights

Two Toronto women are stranded in Trinidad and Tobago after a pilot strike resulted in their cancelled flight, and the airline tells them they can’t return home until September.

The women, who asked to remain anonymous, had both travelled to the area for vacation separately, but when they got to the airport in Tobago this past weekend, a frustrating experience brought the strangers together.

Both were scheduled to fly from Tobago to Trinidad on Sunday before returning to Toronto.

“At about 4 a.m., we got an email that our 9:55 a.m. flight was moved to 1 p.m. When I got to the airport, I asked if they could put me on the 11 a.m. flight instead, and that’s when customer service let me know that all pilots called in sick the night before,” said one of the women.

On August 20, Caribbean Airlines took to social media to announce that several of their international and domestic flights to and from Trinidad and Tobago had to be cancelled after a “remarkably high volume of calls from pilots reporting that they are unwell and unable to report for duty.”

The sick calls resulted in approximately 60 flights being cancelled between August 18 to 20.

pic.twitter.com/Zzw4Z2GAWO

— Caribbean Airlines (@iflycaribbean) August 21, 2023

The Caribbean country is separated by two islands that are more than 30 kilometres apart. The two stranded Toronto women weren’t able to get to Trinidad when the pilots called in sick, so after going through hoops and not getting any help from the airlines, the two were able to catch a ferry to Trinidad.

“When we landed in Trinidad, it was almost midnight. They had no transportation for us. We were in Port of Spain, and this is a dangerous area. We were left in the middle of the night,” she explained.

After finding a hotel and paying for their accommodations, the women say they have received no help from the airline or real updates.

“It’s all out of pocket. So it’s been a very frustrating experience.”

They’ve been told the next flight they can fly out on is September 4.

“That is unacceptable. We have work and other commitments. Everyone has something,” one of them said. “Everybody that we know that is trying to get back to Toronto has not gotten any information.”

They also said that Caribbean Airlines told them they would not refund them if they booked with another airline as they try to find another flight out of the country. Credit card insurance also doesn’t cover the cost of a new flight because the reason for cancellation is labour issues, and that’s the airline’s responsibility.

Caribbean Airlines did secure an industrial court injunction to force the pilots back to work on August 20. They have since stated that flights are running on schedule, and as of 1 p.m. Tuesday, the airline posted that two recovery flights were scheduled to take displaced passengers home to Toronto.

CityNews reached out to Caribbean Airlines for comment but did not receive a response.

On Tuesday, both women say they have not received notice on whether they will be on either flight. They’ve also been told not to go to the airport until a flight is booked, but they say they might have to brave the crowds to get some assistance.

“I think first we’re going to have to try and face the zoo of the airport and get face time to see if someone will help us and support us because over the phone it’s not helping at all.”

The two women are waiting to hear about a flight back home and are grateful they at least found each other to lean on during this tumultuous time.

“The saving grace has been finding this human to navigate,” said one of the women. “But I’m starting to lose hope as to what we are supposed to do next.”

CityNews spoke with the women on Wednesday morning and they confirmed they made it on the second recovery flight headed back to Toronto after spending the day at the airport on Tuesday.