Frustrated passengers stranded at YVR, with grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Now that Canada and the U.S. are grounding all Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes, some travellers temporarily stranded at YVR have had a long, frustrating day.

Christina says she wasn’t paying much attention changes being made, in the wake of Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed everyone on board — including 18 Canadians. “To be quite honest, I actually didn’t pay attention. I realized it was happening, but I wasn’t really paying attention.”

RELATED: Canada, U.S. ground Boeing 737 Max aircraft

Many people were already on a plane bound for Hawaii when they were told to get off the aircraft. Joe and Delina, who flew to Vancouver from Saskatoon, have to wait for a special flight for them and everyone else on their grounded plane.

“We sat up by the gate for hours,” Joe said. “Then we went to ask a question. They’re like, ‘Oh, hours ago, we told you that you had to go claim your bags. So, our bags were sitting downstairs for hours — off the carousel — and we had no idea. Obviously, a lot of people did because there was a huge lineup.”

Passengers are exhausted, but relieved they don’t have to cancel their vacation plans. Both Air Canada and WestJet say they are working to make alternate arrangements for people affected by Wednesday’s decision from the federal transport minister.

Tanya pulled her kids out of school sooner so they could get a head start to Hawaii. Her family was already on the plane when they were ordered off shortly before 8 a.m. She says she doesn’t blame Air Canada staff for poor communication.

“I just kept going and asking for information. They kept us up to date as soon as they could … We knew to keep checking in. I don’t feel that out of the loop,” she said.

RELATED: Grounding of 737 MAX aircraft a ‘extremely chaotic’ for airlines, travellers, says expert

Other travellers also tell us they wish communications have been better, but they understand there hasn’t been much time since the governments of Canada and the U.S. joined several others in parking the planes in the name of safety.

Some airline employees were at the airport, offering stranded passengers meal vouchers.

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