Ontario family describes 'horrific' experience after being stuck in limbo due to delayed WestJet flight

A family trip to Costa Rica quickly turned into a nightmare for an Ontario family, after their WestJet flight to Canada was delayed.

Nathan Wombwell and his sister Bethany Brubacher were among the plane’s passengers, along with 10 of their family members, including four kids under the age of five.

“We had good times. We were at the beach. We lived in the pool," Wombwell said of their vacation.

But the way home was a different story.

“It felt like a bad dream, that anyone could treat paying customers like this,” said Brubacher.“Horrific, absolutely horrific.”

The Ontario family waiting at the airport. (Submitted)

Not long after the family boarded their WestJet flight from Liberia, Costa Rica to Toronto, they were told to sit tight as there was a customs issue involving a flight attendant.

“Are you freaking kidding me? Like, this is wild. It's like it's four hours sitting here, my son's becoming unglued, I am walking him up and down the aisle,” said Wombwell.

After five hours on the tarmac, the family said they were told the flight was cancelled because WestJet employees had exceeded the maximum hours they were allowed to work in a shift.

The family was then told they needed to return to the airport where a WestJet representative would meet them.

When they got there, the situation went from bad to worse.

“There is no WestJet counter. Not a single one, no sign [that says] WestJet. There is no WestJet uniform anywhere. There is no WestJet lanyard anywhere. There is nothing about WestJet anywhere,” Brubacher said.

With very little guidance about what to do, the family and about 100 other passengers stayed in the airport overnight.

The family was told the airport closed at midnight until they convinced security to keep it open because they had no where else to go.

“We were one of the lucky ones,” said Wombwell. “We found a small hole in the wall [hotel]. Super sketchy.”

Brubacher said it was a dangerous situation to be in, but the family had no other option.

The next day, and thousands of dollars later, their flight was rescheduled.

"We sincerely apologize to guests travelling on WS2171 for the inconvenience they experienced,” a WestJet representative told CTV News in part of an emailed statement.

WestJet confirmed the delays were due to customs and runway issues.

“’I am sorry for your inconvenience?’ [It] really just feels condescending and fake,” said Brubacher.

The family doesn’t believe the apology is enough and they are waiting to be reimbursed. It is unclear if that will happen, or how long it could take.