Passenger wakes up alone on dark, parked plane

Air Canada confirmed a passenger had been left on the plane and it was investigating how this...
Air Canada confirmed a passenger had been left on the plane and it was investigating how this could have happened. Photo: Getty Images
Air Canada is looking into how a passenger was forgotten and left on a plane overnight at Toronto's Pearson Airport.

Tiffani Adams says she fell asleep on a flight from Quebec to Toronto on June 9 this year. She woke up in a cold, dark cabin of the parked plane and has had "reoccurring night terrors" ever since.

Air Canada confirmed that a passenger had been left on the plane and it was investigating how this could have happened.

Adams woke "around midnight (a few hours after flight landed) freezing cold still trapped in my seat in complete darkness."

"I think I'm having a bad dream because like, seriously, how is this happening?"

Her experience was shared by a friend in a public post to the Air Canada Facebook page.

The friend, Ms Noel-Dale, who is based in Toronto, became concerned after she had not heard from Adams.

Adams said could not contact anyone for help after discovering her phone was out of battery, and there was no power outlet to recharge it on the plane.

"I'm trying to focus on my breathing and control my panic attack while I attempt to charge my phone by plugging into every USB port I could find," she said.

Adams detailed how she was able to open a plane door, but was then faced by the prospect of what seemed like "a 40-50ft (12m-15m)  drop to the pavement below."

With no way off - Adams finally caught the attention of ground staff, who were almost as surprised to find a passenger still on the plane.

A luggage handle then got a ladder and rescued Adams.

According to Adams, the ground staff were "asking how the heck they left me on the plane... I'm wondering the same".

She confirmed that the airline had been in touch as part of the investigation and to offer an apology.

Adams was offered a hotel and airport transfer by the embarrassed airline, which she refused, saying she had to get to work in a few hours.

In a statement, Air Canada said: "We are still reviewing this matter so we have no additional details to share, but we have followed up with the customer and remain in contact with her."

Toronto Pearson airport responded to an inquiry by CBS, saying "We are aware of this passenger's story and we can certainly empathise with the concern she must have felt."

Comments

Comme, serieusement, qu'est qué c'est?