Calgary family claims Sunwing delays, poor communication made them miss Cuban vacation

Members of the Palma family thought they would be sipping margaritas on a beach in Varadero, Cuba this week, but allege they had trouble boarding their Sunwing flight due to delays and poor communication.

Francisco Palma and his daughter Gianna Palma arrived at the Calgary International Airport on Monday morning to take a 9:30 a.m. Sunwing flight to Veradero that they booked three months ago, but found it had been rescheduled to 12:47 a.m. Tuesday. 

"We had to go back home, and there's six of us. We went back home and then we kept checking the status of the flight and they kept changing it," Palma said.

The 12:47 a.m. flight was then rescheduled to depart at 4:11 a.m. on Tuesday.

Palma says when he checked the Sunwing website before bed, it showed the flight as being rescheduled once again to take off at 2:07 a.m. on Wednesday.

Thinking he didn't need to be at the airport until Wednesday, Palma said he awoke at 4:55 a.m. on Tuesday to a phone call from Sunwing saying they were waiting for him and his daughter to get to the plane, and that they must arrive within 20 minutes or they'd miss their flight.

"Half of my family was already on the plane, but when we got here (Sunwing) told us that they couldn't take anybody else in the plane – that we were too late," Palma said.

The Sunwing flight took off from Calgary at 6:36 a.m., landing in Toronto before making its way to Cuba. 

Francisco Palma and his daughter Gianna Palma tried to fly to Cuba, but complain they never got their because of issues with Sunwing. "They are making it look like its our fault that we missed our flight,” said Francisco Palma. “We have been waiting for this holiday for more than two years because of COVID."

“I’m super upset,” said Gianna. "I’m a single mom, this is my first vacation in so long and (I’m) bringing my son with me, it was a big deal."

The Palma’s say they feel communication with the Sunwing Airlines was poor, and complain that though they signed up for text alerts about their flight they did not receive any.

"I work two jobs, I’m a student, I can’t afford to be taking vacation time and I was able to do it for this one time, and there is nothing now that can make up for that," said Gianna. 

Francisco says he will never book with Sunwing again. 

CTV News contacted Sunwing Airlines seeking a response, and has since learned the family will be getting a refund. CLICK HERE to read more.