Provided by Sunwing Vacations Inc/Globe Newswire
Tour operator will temporarily suspend southbound flights and concentrate resources on returning customers safely
TORONTO, March 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — As part of the ongoing efforts to protect our employees and customers and keep Canadians safe throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Sunwing is cancelling all southbound flights from March 17th until April 9th, 2020 and focusing on repatriating customers in destination.
“The health and well-being of our customers and our employees is our highest priority and we are working around the clock to keep them safe. It’s important that we do our part to contain the spread of COVID-19, while assuring our customers and their families that we are fully committed to bring each and every one of them home to Canada,” said Stephen Hunter, President and CEO, Sunwing Travel Group. Sunwing currently has approximately 100,000 customers in destination.
This morning, the first four rescue flights departed, three from Toronto and one from Montreal. These initial flights will bring over 500 Canadians home from Honduras, Aruba, and Panama, all countries that have announced the imminent closure of their borders. Sunwing is working closely with the governments of all our destinations, in collaboration with Canadian government authorities, to continue repatriation flights in the coming days.
In addition to these immediate repatriation measures, Sunwing is temporarily suspending all outgoing flights to most of its sun destinations from March 17th to April 9th inclusive. This decision is essential to the company’s focus on containing the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring all customers return safely. All customers within this window will be eligible for a full cash refund or future travel credit. Customers who opt for the latter, can receive an additional $100 per person to use towards a future booking.
Sunwing has set up a dedicated page on their website providing customers with real time updates along with all the options available to them to defer or cancel their travel plans.