Darren Stoppler expected his New Year’s day flight to Puerto Vallarta to mark the start of a relaxing vacation. Instead, it began with a two-hour delay and no luggage.
Stoppler was waiting on the WestJet plane with his wife and sister when crew informed passengers of a weight issue that would require bags to be removed from the aircraft.
The full scope of the problem did not become clear until the plane landed in Mexico and passengers found out that over 70 bags had been left behind.
“I paid for premium seats with priority luggage and they lost my luggage,” said Stoppler.
Westjet staff directed him to file a baggage claim and said the luggage would arrive the next day. But when Stoppler checked his phone to see the location of the airtag he placed in his bag hours earlier, it was travelling far from Puerto Vallarta—first appearing in Texas, then Cancun.
Stoppler described four days of repeated calls to WestJet, long periods of waiting on hold, and difficulty navigating the airline’s website.
“The last time I tried calling, they said, ‘well, we’re not taking anymore calls because call volume is so high,’” he said. “I just gave up.”
Stoppler said WestJet offered up to $100 for the delayed luggage, which he said barely covers the necessities. Luckily, his brother had arrived ahead of him and could at least lend him a pair of swim shorts.
Stoppler kept an eye on WestJet’s online luggage tracker but said it did not show an update on his family’s bags until Sunday after his wife and sister spoke with staff at the airport.
They had gone there to pick up other luggage that had arrived three days late, and showed staff Stoppler’s Airtag location.
Stoppler said the WestJet agent was able to make some calls and confirm it was indeed in Cancun. He said the company then sent the luggage from Cancun to Toronto before it arrived in Puerto Vallarta Monday.
“We’ve been coming to Mexico for 25 years and and you know, this is the worst experience I’ve had in my life,” he said.
Stoppler wasn’t the only WestJet passenger travelling from Saskatchewan to Puerto Vallarta who had their luggage left behind.
Stephanie Edwards and her husband Jonah Franklin flew from Regina to Puerto Vallarta on Jan. 3.
The couple paid for a checked bag the night before and arrived at the airport two hours ahead of time, believing they did everything right.
“I would never in a million years think on a direct flight like your bag is going to get lost or delayed. It gets on the plane with you, and it gets off the plane with you,” said Edwards.
Both Edwards and Franklin said at no point did WestJet crew mention they would be taking luggage off of the flight.
It wasn’t until they landed in Mexico and walked over to the baggage claim that they learned their bags had been left in Regina.
Edwards remembered watching about 25 bags making their way around the carousel, being grabbed one by one.
“It’s just going around and around and like 20 minutes go by, 30 minutes go by. And here I thought, well, maybe they had to go back to the plane and bring more bags,” she said.
“And eventually the thing just stops.”
With no announcements from WestJet staff, the couple found a kiosk where they were told by an agent there were no more bags.
Edwards immediately filled out a claim and made a call to the airline, noting that many passengers had been affected.
She noted that a lot of passengers tracked their luggage by Airtag in the days following to places like Edmonton and Calgary.
“Clothes and all that kind of stuff is one thing. But I know even for me, like I have a number of prescription medications,” said Edwards.
Finally, on Monday night a friend at the Puerta Vallarta airport spotted her bright orange bag, sending a photo to confirm it had arrived — though she said WestJet’s online tracker still shows it is ‘being searched for’.
Without that photo, Edwards says, she would still have no idea where her bag was or what steps to take next.
The incident has shaken her confidence in WestJet.
Edwards noted Canadian passengers have limited options in airlines and they put their full faith in carriers to ensure something as essential as their luggage arrives at their destination with them.
“And it just continues to sort of be another kick to the stomach,” she said.
Both Edwards and her husband say in the future they will rely on carry-on luggage whenever possible.
In an email to CBC News, WestJet acknowledged the January 1st flight experienced baggage issues due to a number of factors including the volume of luggage, maximum weight and runway conditions.
The airline confirmed that luggage from that flight is currently being routed to Puerto Vallarta and apologized for the inconvenience.
WestJet is advising passengers who experienced luggage delays to visit their website where they can submit a claim.
