Niamh Shackleton
A woman claims to have been booted off a flight from Mexico after falling unwell, leaving her 'traumatized'.
Joanna Chiu took to X to publicly air her grievances with WestJet, accusing the airline of poorly handling the situation.
Her first tweet shared on February 10 read: "Just got kicked off a @WestJet flight from Mexico because I had an upset stomach and was going to the washroom too much before takeoff.
"No promise of a hotel or rebooked flight. I had meds and was on the mend. Some customer service. If you’re sick before a flight, hold it in…"
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Upon being ushered off the flight, Joanna says she left her money onboard the plane and, when she needed money to get a taxi to a hotel, the airline wouldn't help her.
"In my rush to get off plane alone, I left my money with travel companions and @WestJet," she went on to share on social media.
"Supervisor refused to pay for my taxi to a hotel 20 min away. He called a guard over to intimidate me but when I burst into tears the guard assessed rightly that WestJet dude was the a**hole."
Joanna proceeded to share her fears that she was going to be arrested following the ordeal before being urged to return to the airport the following day.
In an update posted on February 12, she confirmed that she was safely home in Vancouver, Canada.
Joanna wrote: "Hi everyone. I’m home safe and sound! There continued to be an unfortunate series of events involving urgent care treatment, but I’m okay now!"
She added in a follow-up tweet: "My last word: Check whether your destination is known for stomach bugs. Take probiotics etc. If you're asked to deplane, take the time to gather wallet, passport, medications. Duolingo proved useful and off-line translation apps. If staff is abusive, ask for another to help you."
People have since shared their thoughts on the matter and voiced their apologies to Joanna for what she'd experienced.
"Oy. Sorry that happened to you. Yikes," someone wrote, while another said: "Ridiculous. I’m sorry this happened."
But others hailed it as the right decision by the airline.
"As a former flight attendant, they made the right call. I can't vouch for how they communicated to/with you, but the decision wasn't wrong," one person insisted.
Another person went on: "This was 100% the right decision. Unfortunate, for sure, but the airline has to consider everyone’s health and safety. If this passenger couldn’t stay in her seat, that’s clearly a problem."
WestJet has since released a statement to UNILAD following the incident.
The airline said: "We sincerely apologize to Ms. Chiu for the inconvenience and discomfort she experienced during her recent travel experience. Ensuring the wellbeing and safety of our guests and crew is our number one priority and therefore we take any health-related concerns very seriously."
It continued: "While unexpected illness can occur while travelling, maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all guests and crew members is paramount. In circumstances where a guest is deemed unfit to travel due to illness, our crew must make difficult decisions in the name of safety.
"Upon learning of Ms. Chiu’s experience via X last week, our Social Care team immediately reached out directly to the guest to ensure she was provided with a reaccommodation option and to receive any feedback on her experience.
"We apologize for any communication failures throughout her journey and are reviewing our procedures to ensure any guests in a similar situation in the future receive the appropriate support and guidance."