About 100 people, including some Quebecers, were stuck at an airport in Camagüey, Cuba since Thursday, waiting days for scheduled flights to depart.
Their flight finally arrived in Montreal Sunday morning at around 7:30 a.m., but the arrival came after the group had been stranded for four days without updates on when they'd finally be able to go home.
Tristan Lévesque-Lizotte and his wife Sarah Belleville left for Santa Lucia, Cuba, Aug. 17 for a week's vacation.
However, the Quebec couple's return flight with Air Cubana had been repeatedly delayed since it was supposed to leave Thursday.
The first time they tried to leave, the airline said there was a problem with the radar.
The next time, a group of passengers were taken to the airport by bus but when they arrived, they were informed that no aircraft was available.
"There's no communication with Air Cabana, travel agency Caribe Sol and the airport," said Lévesque-Lizotte.
"Camagüey is such a small airport that I can't even buy a ticket with another company. There are no flights. The only other one goes to Fort Lauderdale."
Saturday, Lévesque-Lizotte told Radio-Canada that his latest flight, scheduled for 3 a.m. the next morning had been delayed again.
He says he's now missed three days of work due to the delays and says he's learned his lesson booking with discount airlines.
"When you pay less, it's worth less. I'd advise to maybe spend the $150, $200 more for less hassle."
Travel agency apologizes
The president of Caribe Sol said in an email that the reason why clients had to wait days for the next available flight was due to mechanical problems with Air Cubana.
"We sincerely apologize to all the passengers affected by this event," wrote Juan Carlos Soto Garcia.
The travel agency did not say if the stranded passengers will be receiving compensation.
