After spending almost 48 hours longer than planned in Costa Rica, an Ottawa family finally returned home.
The Sachs family was supposed to depart on a WestJet flight from Liberia airport to Toronto on Saturday night, but after a five-hour delay and a surprise sinkhole on the runway, they were forced to find their own accommodation to spend the night in Costa Rica.
After spending about $1,500 on a resort, WestJet added a catch-up flight on Sunday, allowing the Sachses to return home. They arrived in Ottawa at 5 a.m. Monday.
“Last night we arrived in Toronto, rented a car and drove in the middle of the night back to Ottawa.” said Adam Sachs.
“We are absolutely happy to be home.”
The travel nightmare began on Saturday when his departing flight experienced a “passport verification issue” and he was forced to wait on the tarmac in Liberia. Once this was resolved, a problem on the runway caused the flight to be completely cancelled.
In a statement, WestJet confirmed that the runway was closed due to “unforeseen damage” and “required the flight to return to the gate.” The family says they were left in the country with no help from the airline for lodging or transportation.
Other Canadian passengers suffered cancellations and delays due to the problem.
AirTransat confirmed to CTV News that one of its flights from Toronto to Libera was diverted to San Jose following the unexpected runway closure. It says its passengers were put up in nearby hotels or made alternative arrangements.
CTV News also reached out to Sunwing for an update on its flights to Costa Rica, but did not receive a response.
WestJet apologized in a statement to CTV News, but the family says they have not received any personal updates from the company. The family adds that they are still in contact with many people from their flight who are stuck at the Liberia airport, some of whom have been sleeping on the floor since Saturday night.
Although happy to be home, the Sachses are still searching for answers, refunds and a response.
“No one received an apology,” said Margarita Sachs. “We have a group of passengers in a WhatsApp group and we just communicate with each other and no one apologized at all.”
