Hundreds of Air Transat passengers have been stuck in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, since Thursday and lament being left to their own devices.

Flight TS399 was scheduled to depart Punta Cana on May 26 for Montreal, but was unable to take off due to mechanical failure.

Passengers had to wait two hours before learning that the flight was finally canceled and that they would be redirected to their hotel.

“We were offered as an excuse a $15 voucher to eat all day while we waited at the airport, with no help, no news, no information, no contact. It was really horrible,” says Vanessa Lemieux, a passenger stuck in the Dominican Republic.

A spokesperson for Air Transat confirmed to TVA Nouvelles that a new aircraft has been sent to Punta Cana and that passengers should be back in Montreal on Saturday evening.

Passengers would have received, according to Bernard Côté, spokesperson for Air Transat, three $15 US vouchers to stock up at the airport and that communications would have been sent every 30 minutes.

Twice in a week

This is the second time in a week that passengers have been stranded overseas due to the cancellation of an Air Transat flight for mechanical issues.

On May 21, 220 passengers were stranded in Lisbon, Portugal, for 24 hours due to a security issue in the aircraft that was to transport them.

- Based on information from Samsara Rainville