Family's 40-Hour WestJet Nightmare: Seeking Compensation

0:00Laras Smith, Shane Dungee and their son faced a 40-hour nightmare on a WestJet flight back from Palm Springs to Calgary last month. They were set to fly out on March 2, but crew issues and scheduling pushed it to the next morning at 8 a.m. Even then, two failed takeoffs and tarmac time led to deplanning for maintenance, turning their trip into chaos. Passengers scrambled for options, and Dungee got lucky booking through Vancouver after a long whole time. Their bags got swapped around during the mix-up, ending up on the wrong plane, so they grabbed them themselves at 2 a.m. in Calgary after landing. Layton The family is furious, pointing out the initial 24-hour delay alone should have triggered compensation under air passenger rules. They're seeking $900 per person for the full 40-hour ordeal, plus expenses, but WestJet denied it, blaming unscheduled maintenance. That's exempt as a safety measure. WestJet statement focuses only on the plane issues, ignoring the crew problems from day 1.

1:00The couple filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency earlier this month, but that agency swamped with over 96,000 cases, and getting thousands more weekly. This saga highlights the push for airline accountability, as many passengers don't even know their rights under these protections. Families like this one are left waiting up to a year for answers while calling out the lack of clear info from carriers. People news, powered by AI. This is Calgary News Today. I'm Corey with The Story.