Sunwing Airlines owes the federal government close to a third of a billion in loans and as part of WestJet Airlines takeover of Sunwing, WestJet will be required to repay most of the money over the next five years.. WestJet flights .“WestJet will be obligated to repay the bulk of Sunwing’s outstanding federal loans promptly upon closing with the remaining travel credit facility loan repaid at its maturity in 2028,” the department wrote Saturday in a legal notice issued under the Canada Transportation Act..Sunwing's federal debts totalled $316.9 million..“Including loans to ensure refunds for passengers whose travel was cancelled due to COVID, Sunwing has received $316.9 million in federal financing,” said the notice..“Given Sunwing’s precarious situation following the cancellation of much travel and the need to repatriate passengers during the winter 2022 holidays, there was a significant risk the company would not be able to repay the loans.”.Federal loans were issued under the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility program approved by Parliament in 2020 as a pandemic relief measure..Additional non-repayable grants were paid to Sunwing Airlines, Sunwing Travel Group and Sunwing Vacations under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy program. The amount of wage subsidies was not disclosed..Sunwing had been the fourth-largest airline in Canada before the pandemic..WestJet announced its takeover on March 2, 2022, at an undisclosed cost..“The impact of the pandemic forced Sunwing to rely on more debt and lease liabilities as was the case for several other carriers,” the transport department wrote in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement..Sunwing Airlines in January 12 testimony at the Commons Transport committee revealed it had 7,000 complaints from passengers over poor service..“We failed to deliver,” testified Len Corrado, Sunwing president..“How many complaints were filed as a result of this last holiday travel season?” asked Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis (Haldimand-Norfolk, ON). .“The current number is 7,000 that we have received,” replied Andrew Dawson, the executive in charge of Sunwing tour operations.. Sunwing plane in the sky .Sunwing faced six-figure penalties and compensation claims over service complaints even before the pandemic. A 2018 ice storm cost Sunwing $695,500 in federal penalties and a $260,000 charge to retrieve lost luggage for thousands of passengers stranded in Toronto and Montreal following a spring storm..Records at the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) show Sunwing refused to cancel flights and attempted to maintain its schedule. This decision created a “domino effect” that left passengers sleeping on airport floors or stranded for hours aboard parked aircraft..The worst incident cited by the CTA was Sunwing Flight 715 from Aruba to Toronto on April 15, 2018. The plane landed after a five-hour flight with returning vacationers, then spent 6 hours and 14 minutes on the tarmac as the crew ran out of food..“Tensions began to rise in the cabin and passengers were demanding to be let out,” wrote investigators..“Passengers sitting at the back of the cabin had become agitated and were creating an anxiety-provoking atmosphere.” Police were called. No charges were filed.
