Air Canada sorry for booting passengers who refused vomit-soiled

This article was last updated on September 7, 2023

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In a statement, Air Canada said it was still reviewing the matter on Tuesday and has contacted the passengers “as our operating procedures were not followed correctly in this instance.”

Air Canada says it has apologized to two passengers who were escorted off a plane by security after protesting that their seats were smeared with vomit.

The airline said Tuesday that the passengers “clearly did not receive the standard of care to which they were entitled.”

The incident during boarding for an Aug. 26 flight from Las Vegas to Montreal was described in graphic detail by another passenger, Susan Benson of New Brunswick, who said she was in the row behind two women.

In a Facebook post that has since gone viral, Benson wrote there was a foul smell when she boarded the plane, “but we didn’t know at first what the problem was.” 

“Apparently, on the previous flight someone had vomited in that area,” Benson wrote. “Air Canada attempted a quick cleanup before boarding but clearly wasn’t able to do a thorough clean. They placed coffee grinds in the seat pouch and sprayed perfume to mask the smell.”

Reached by phone Wednesday, Benson told CBC News that the passengers assigned to those seats told a flight attendant that the seat and seatbelt were wet and they could still see residue of vomit.

The attendant and a supervisor told them they were sorry, but that the flight was full, and they would just have to sit there.

After some back and forth between flight staff and the passengers, Benson said staff “finally agreed” to give the two women blankets, wipes and vomit bags to try and clean up and protect their clothes as best as they could. 

But soon after, one of the pilots approached the women, who were on their way to Vienna, and gave them two options.

“They could go on their own accord and work out their own new flight, or they would be escorted off and placed on a no fly-list,” Benson said. 

When asked why they were being kicked off, the pilot accused the women of being rude to the flight attendant. Benson disputes this, saying the women were upset and firm, but “they were definitely not rude”