Unveiling My Canadian Shame: An Open Account of Disheartenment

Two passengers booked on a flight from Las Vegas to Montreal last month found themselves in a unique and unpleasant situation. They were asked to leave the plane before takeoff simply because they refused to sit in seats that were soaked with vomit. This incident, which occurred on an Air Canada plane on August 26, has gained widespread attention after Susan Benson, a fellow passenger, shared her experience in a now-viral Facebook post. Benson describes how she was seated behind a man and two women who were having trouble getting settled due to a foul smell emanating from their seats. It quickly became apparent that someone had vomited in those seats during a previous flight.

Air Canada attempted to clean the seats before boarding, but the cleanup was not thorough enough. According to Benson, crew members placed coffee grinds in the seat pouch and sprayed perfume to mask the smell. However, the new passengers who were assigned those seats were understandably upset. They informed a flight attendant that the seats and seatbelts were wet and there was still visible vomit residue in their area. Despite the apology from the flight attendant, they were told that the flight was full and they had to stay in those seats. Frustrated, the passengers tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible for the four-hour-plus flight with the help of blankets and wipes they had requested from the reluctant crew.

The situation took a turn when the pilot intervened. According to Benson, the pilot informed the two disgruntled women that they had the choice to leave the plane on their own and arrange for alternative flights at their own expense, or they would be escorted off the plane by security and placed on a no-fly list. Benson describes the women as upset but not rude, yet they were still escorted off the plane by security. The incident caused a delay of about half an hour in the plane’s arrival in Montreal. Benson, who tagged Air Canada in her social media post, shared the incident to bring attention to the issue and urge the airline to take action.

In her post, Benson states, “I am ashamed to be a Canadian and ashamed of Air Canada.” It is unclear what actions Air Canada has taken regarding the passengers who were removed from the flight. The airline released a statement acknowledging that their operating procedures were not followed correctly and apologized to the passengers who were affected. They also mentioned that an investigation into the matter is ongoing. (Read more Air Canada stories.)