WestJet Faces Complaints Over Aircraft Swaps Before Safety-Related Cancellations

WestJet canceled Brad Vanderwilk and his girlfriend’s flight from Mexico to Edmonton with one day’s notice in March 2026. The couple was rebooked on an indirect flight through Victoria that required an overnight stay and arrived 16 hours late, leaving them scrambling to arrange care for their children.

WestJet denied Vanderwilk’s compensation claim, citing unscheduled maintenance required for safety.

CBC reviewed flight records that showed the airline had replaced the original aircraft with a plane grounded for two days before the cancellation. Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations provide $1,000 compensation per passenger for delays within the airline’s control that are not due to safety reasons. Vanderwilk told CBC Go Public, “I feel lied to and cheated.

CBC Go Public identified 34 cases in which WestJet passengers were denied compensation after aircraft swaps and cancellations, with the airline citing safety reasons each time. In one such case, Viren Harjani’s flight from Toronto to Montego Bay was canceled in December 2025. “I just feel completely blindsided,” Harjani said.

Simon Turcotte-Langevin missed two days of vacation after his WestJet flight was canceled. “They’re lying to our face,” he stated. Lucy Pascal’s WestJet flight from Calgary to Puerto Vallarta was also canceled.

“It’s unethical,” Pascal said. WestJet stated that planes are sometimes swapped to minimize disruption for the greatest number of guests overall. The airline did not answer CBC Go Public’s questions about why aircraft were swapped shortly before cancellation.

@Independent reported that it has contacted WestJet for more information. Gábor Lukács, who founded the group Air Passenger Rights, said the pattern suggests a deliberate strategy. “There’s a pattern of a good aircraft being swapped with a bad one and then passengers are being told, ‘Sorry, the aircraft broke down,’” Lukács stated.

He added, “It’s called fraud. ” The Canadian Transportation Agency ruled against WestJet in a similar aircraft swap case in 2022. According to Lukács, the airline can avoid paying between $75,000 and $200,000 per cancelled flight by citing safety reasons.

The Canadian Transportation Agency is investigating CBC Go Public’s reporting on WestJet. ” The 2022 ruling by the Canadian Transportation Agency came after an earlier aircraft swap dispute. Lukács has tracked multiple similar complaints since then, each following the same sequence of an aircraft change, last-minute cancellation and denial of compensation on safety grounds.