A routine flight out of Toronto Pearson International Airport turned into a nightmare for dozens of passengers last week after their journey was repeatedly delayed for over 30 hours.

Although Etihad Airways flight EY140 from Toronto to Abu Dhabi was initially scheduled to take off at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, multiple passengers who spoke to blogTO said the journey turned into a three-day-long ordeal. 

According to passenger Pranav Variyamveetil, the pilot instructed passengers onboard the flight to disembark the flight following technical issues and multiple delays. 

"During the time we were on the plane, only water was made available," said Jitendra Tanna, another passenger on the flight. 

Photo: Pranav Variyamveetil. 

Variyamveetil alleges that passengers were told to wait at the departure gate for further instructions. "Until past midnight, we were stuck at the departure gate, with no food or drinks offered by Etihad, and then they told us the flight [had] been rescheduled for 5 p.m. the next day," he told blogTO. 

Passengers allege that they were then instructed to pick up their luggage and that the airline's ground staff would assist in the baggage area. 

"It took perhaps one and a half hours for the luggage to arrive. In the meantime, there were lineups for transportation and hotel. We would have preferred staying the night at the hotel. However, the lines were long and hardly moving. We were very tired by now, and once our bags arrived, we opted for a taxi voucher and returned home," Tanna told blogTO. 

Variyamveetil added that many passengers were forced to cancel, request a refund, or book another flight "at their own expense," leading some to miss major family events and vacation plans. 

"Half of the passengers couldn't get travel vouchers or accommodation support, so the staff requested that those passengers book Ubers or hotel stays of their own and promised that the company would reimburse the amount," he explained. 

Photo: Pranav Variyamveetil.

"There was no formal written confirmation regarding this either, and I heard they kept the price bracket just for $200 per group, which was absurd considering the fact that the lowest price for a hotel room available was more than 200 dollars." 

On Friday, Tanna says passengers were informed via email that the flight had been rescheduled to depart at 5 p.m. that day. 

"We arrived at the airport and while in the lineup, we were informed that the 5 p.m. flight had also been delayed and we should await further update. This time we opted for remaining at the hotel nearby," he told blogTO. 

Then came another devastating update — the flight had been delayed once again to 5 a.m. the next day. 

"At this point, people who had an emergency, and people who had to leave ASAP, like the people who had connecting flights at Abu Dhabi, either had to cancel their connecting flight, further adding to their expense," Variyamveetil said. 

"Some of them had to eventually cancel this trip, and request a refund, and pay for the latest trip available through other airlines. The remaining 90 per cent of passengers resorted to waiting another night for the next day's 5 a.m. flight, which was, at that point, still not guaranteed according to the staff since this delay was due to a technical issue.​​​​​​" 

One of the passengers who was forced to reschedule their travel plans, Sreelakshmi Haridas, told blogTO that the lack of coordination and communication raised "concerns about the airline's operational" practices. 

"I had no confidence in travelling with this airline. Waiting for a flight with uncertain departure timelines was impractical, especially considering my limited vacation period with planned activities," Haridas said. "I was forced to cancel both legs of my journey, causing significant stress and inconvenience." 

Variyamveetil says he finally reached his final destination on April 1 at 4:30 a.m., three days after the original destination time.

Since the incident, he alleges passengers who have been filing complaints have been met with generic automated messages from the airline. 

"There has been no communication from their end regarding the various compensations that we are deemed to," he told blogTO. 

"The monetary loss, loss of time, loss of missed engagements and events due to this obscene delay, as well as the stress, anxiety, and tension related to staying at an airport for three straight days, without any proper communication even though the information was present with the company is totally unbearable, and cannot be tolerated." 

blogTO reached out to Etihad Airways for comment on the situation but did not receive a response back in time for this article's publication.