BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
While thousands of Sudburians head for warmer climates and a bit of relaxation during March Break, travellers who went to Cuba a few weeks ago are recovering from a stressful return trip.
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March Break madness was already ramping up at the Sudbury airport as people checked in for the second-last direct flight to Cuba Wednesday. |
Passengers who were on the direct flight back to Sudbury from Varadero, Cuba, two weeks ago are wondering whether the service is feasible after a travel nightmare that saw their jet re-routed to Toronto three times.
The Boeing 737 unsuccessfully attempted to land at the Sudbury airport two times on the evening of Feb. 22 and once in the morning of Feb. 23. Each time foggy conditions forced the plane to be re-routed to Pearson International Airport in Toronto.
After the third aborted landing, the 189 sleep-deprived passengers took Greyhound buses back to Sudbury, arriving home nearly 24 hours after the plane?s original landing time.
The travellers were among many Sudburians who have taken advantage of Sunwing Travel Group?s popular new direct flights between Sudbury and Cuba this winter.
?We got to the airport Wednesday night at 9 pm, flew a holding pattern because we couldn?t see the runway and had to go back to Toronto for fuel,? says Rene Quesnelle of Sudbury, who was on the flight.
?We came back at around 11:30 pm, flew around and couldn?t see the runway. The pilot made the right decision. When you can?t see, you can?t land a plane like that.
?We ended up having to disembark the plane (in Toronto) and going through customs, which is a real long effort, when you?ve got 190 people. At 2 am, they gave us the bad news that they couldn?t find four buses to send us all up north.?
The plane took off for the third time at 7:15 am after the weather had reportedly cleared up, but when it reached Sudbury, fog hindered their landing once again.
Perhaps it?s not practical for the airport to offer direct flights to sun destinations in the winter, says Quesnelle. It costs about $15,000 each time a plane takes off, and Sunwing might not want to lose that kind of money.
?I guess they (Sunwing) are going to have to consider whether they?re going to continue to offer this service in the future. It?s too bad if they don?t. But they?ll just say ?We can?t afford to take these kinds of losses.??
Sunwing Airlines president Mark William said the problems with the flight were mostly due to bad weather conditions, and couldn?t be helped.
Although re-routing passengers so many times was expensive, Sunwing still wants to continue direct flights out of Sudbury.
?The further north you get, the worse the weather can be, and we?ve had our share of bad luck. But we?re committed to try to make it work,? he says.
There haven?t been any other reported problems with the direct Cuba flights.
By coincidence, Sudbury airport director Robert Johnston was on the same flight as Quesnelle.
Sudbury airport?s relatively short runway may have played a part in the aborted landings, he says.
?The runway length is important. It comes into play in certain weather conditions. Everything comes into play ? altitude, weight of aircraft, runway
conditions, the co-efficient of friction and runway length,? he says.
The airport has definitely hit some bumps as they?ve introduced the direct flights, admits Johnston.
For instance, some passengers have complained there is only one unisex washroom available once they have passed through customs in Sudbury.
?I think every operation will have growing pains. A lot of issues from our end are small operational issues,? he says.
?Even with the washrooms, there is one in the hold room, but right outside the hold room there is lots of washroom space. It just means someone has to leave the hold room and go through screening again.?
