Ontario family kicked off Sunwing flight in Mexico after daughter throws up

Travelling can be uneasy for those who find themselves suffering from motion sickness. And it can be just as challenging for a parent of a child who suffers from these symptoms, especially as children are believed to be more susceptible.

But while parents Sonia Hasnian and Syed Ali, from Cambridge, Ont., knew what their two-year-old daughter was experiencing after she vomited once in a bag when boarding a flight to Toronto following a full day in the sun and a bumpy bus ride to the airport.

The struggle wasn’t caring for their child, who didn’t show other symptoms, but rather being left stranded in Puerto Vallarta in November by Sunwing airlines after being asked to deboard the plane with false reassurance.

“They decided that my kid is not fit to fly, and they asked us to deboard the plane right away,” Ali tells CityNews in an interview alongside his wife.

“They mentioned that they had made the hotel arrangement and transportation.”

Sunwing allegedly informed the family of five that a Sunwing representative would meet them at the gate and that they would be put on a flight home the following day.

“So we were like, OK, fine. Maybe she can get some rest, and we agreed because it had already been long enough,” says Hasnian, understanding of the situation.

But after disembarking the plane, they discovered no Sunwing representative was waiting for them nearby. Instead, they were assisted by airport officials in grabbing their luggage, going through customs and being guided to the exit of the terminal.

Unable to connect with the airline by phone or through an airport kiosk, they were left confused about who would assist them.

“Eventually, I saw one orange shirt roaming around, and I went up to him. He said, ‘I’m an off-duty Sunwing employee, but I’ll see what I can do,'” Ali said.

Sunwing “sincerely regrets” that child fell ill, spokesperson says

The family was made to wait in an area of the airport with no proper seating, forcing their five-year-old twins and two-year-old daughter to sleep on the floor as it reached closer to midnight — already five hours past when the plane was scheduled to take flight.

The three children of Sonia Hasnian and Syed Ali sit on an airport floor after being forced off a Sunwing flight.

“Eventually, he showed up after an hour and said there was no reply. That Sunwing cannot provide you anything at this point,” suggesting the couple venture out, locate their hotel and contact Sunwing in the morning.

“At that moment, our priority was taking our kids to a safe space. That’s what we did. As you can imagine, with three big bags, a stroller and three kids, it was tough for us to get into a hotel,” adds Ali, who struggled to find a room and taxi large enough to accommodate his family so late at night.

“We are aware of the customers in question, and sincerely regret that a family member fell ill and they were unable to travel on their originally scheduled return flight,” writes Sunwing’s media team in an email to CityNews, maintaining that as a result of the symptoms showcased while on board, their crew followed protocol in obtaining a medical assessment from Medlink that deemed the child as unfit to travel.

Medlink is a service which manages passenger fit-to-fly assessments and medical training for airline staff.

According to Hasnian, a registered doctor in Pakistan, little assessment was made.

“She took the medical history from us, asked if she had a fever or asthma and we said no,” reiterating that her daughter was healthy.

Sunwing employees became “abrasive,” the family says

The couple confirmed that the plane was sitting for an extended period on the tarmac, unaware of why until an announcement was made that it was for a medical emergency onboard.

“And then there was an announcement, and I was like, OK, let me go and find out. So I went to the captain area where the air hostess was, and I asked if this was because of us?” confirming that they decided to leave the plane after connecting with Medlink by phone.

They added that the crew became abrasive, stating that the authorities would be called, in front of their children, without them allegedly being combative about deboarding.

“They said it was for her safety, and then as parents, we were like ok. Anything can happen in the sky.”

“While the family was escorted through customs and baggage, we regret to hear that they were dissatisfied with the experience and left the airport before our in-destination team could provide further support,” writes Sunwing.

A surprise to the family who were waiting at the airport for hours and who say they had reached out multiple times to the airline while in Mexico and Canada, only receiving automated responses. The only time they connected with someone was through the reservation number, hoping they could be rebooked with another airline as soon as possible, but they were denied.

“Be good enough to reach out and talk to us. Apologize,” says Ali. “We were lied to right in the airport saying to go out. There is a car and transportation for you. They should be apologizing to us.”

Sunwing media’s team confirms that they are in receipt of the inquiry from the family and will be in touch with them directly to discuss their experience further.

An experience described by Hasnian as a nightmare after putting their trust in the airline following a two-year wait to travel on their first family vacation.

“Because of them, it just ended up being a nightmare. The ending was just so horrible. My kids were asking why I was crying. The fact that we were stranded was the scariest thing that had happened to us.”

According to the airline, if passengers can no longer travel as planned, they are responsible for the cost of a new flight, whether with Sunwing Airlines or another air carrier. The airline further suggested the family review the terms and conditions if they had purchased travel insurance with a separate provider.

After 24 hours of trying to contact Sunwing Care in Mexico and through family in Toronto, the family was forced to purchase five new tickets with another airline to return home.

“It’s not too much for Sunwing, but it’s too much for us.”