Two passengers were booted off an Air Canada flight after complaining that their seats were covered in vomit just before a five-hour trip to Montreal, according to a fellow traveler.
Susan Benson, who was on Flight 1706 departing Las Vegas on August 26, said two women alerted flight attendants to a rancid smell coming from their seats that made it unbearable to sit down.
“There was a bit of a foul smell but we didn’t know at first what the problem was,” Benson wrote on Facebook. “Apparently, on the previous flight someone had vomited in that area.”
Although the women, who were not immediately identified, were ready to accept their fate, they were told by a pilot that they needed to leave because they were rude to the flight attendants.
Benson said she and her fellow passengers were shocked over the characterization and tried to stick up for the women, but the duo were ultimately removed by security guards.
“I cannot stop thinking about these two ladies. They did nothing wrong,” Benson wrote. “I am ashamed to be a Canadian and ashamed of Air Canada.”
Air Canada said it is reviewing the incident and reached out to the customers to offer an apology.
“We are reviewing this serious matter internally and have followed up with the customers directly as our operating procedures were not followed correctly in this instance,” the company said in a statement. “This includes apologizing to these customers, as they clearly did not receive the standard of care to which they were entitled, and addressing their concerns.”
Benson condemned Air Canada staff’s behavior, alleging that the flight crew did not do an adequate job in cleaning up the barf on the women’s seats.
She said they placed coffee grounds in a seat pouch and sprayed perfume to mask the smell, but it was clearly not working as the passengers could still smell the terrible odor.
Despite arguing for several minutes with the flight crew, Benson said, the two women agreed to take their seats if they could at least get blankets and wipes to clean the seats themselves.
“Reluctantly, they were given blankets wipes and more vomit bags. The best Air Canada could do,” Benson noted.
Benson claimed that a pilot then approached the women and gave them an ultimatum: “They could leave the plane on their own accord and organize flights on their own dime, or they would be escorted off the plane by security and placed on a no-fly list!”
The witness said that during the argument, the women were never rude, only upset at their situation, a contention echoed by another passenger who tried to reason with the pilot.
In spite of everything, security guards boarded the plane and took the women away.
SOURCE: New york post
