Saskatoon man rations baby formula while stranded in Dominican Republic amid Sunwing cancellations

Rob McClinton arrived in Punta Cana on Dec. 14 with plans to be back home in Saskatoon a week ago, but now he's stuck in the Dominican Republic with hundreds of Canadians waiting to get back home.

"There are over 130 people from Saskatoon and area stranded in Punta Cana and other parts of the Dominican Republic," McClinton said, referring to the people who came in on the same flight as him and haven't yet left the area.

McClinton and others have been waiting for more than six days now, and many have missed their Christmas plans. Now the 33-year-old father of two is rationing baby formula as the endless wait continues.

"Our daughter is still reliant on formula. We did bring an entire week's extra worth of formula with us but have started cutting it with milk to try to make it last longer," McClinton said.

"We would have run out if we didn't. We don't really have an ability to go and purchase formula here."

Wait for flight or get supplies

McClinton is staying in a resort 30 minutes out of Punta Cana and has to make the difficult choice between staying there and waiting for a flight to become available, or leaving to visit the town for supplies.

"As Sunwing doesn't provide any communication or information, we all have to wait every day to know from our representative whether we can jump on a flight," he said.

"Every day we wait in the hotel lobbies, and when the flight is delayed again, we have to rebook our rooms. It's our daily routine and a very challenging situation."

McClinton said many people with young families and elderly people are in a worse situation than him.

"An elderly couple brought extra prescriptions with them, but they have now run out," he said. If the elderly couple went to town for a pharmacy, he said, they could risk missing the chance to catch a flight home.

CBC connected with more than a dozen people stuck in the Dominican Republic. All say they are desperately waiting to be back home.

"There are farmers who can't get back to home to close their books before year end, and many are losing wages. A lot of hardships here," McClinton said.

"We have two dogs in a kennel, and that's an added stress. I have already been billed $500 in phone bills to get updates."

He said to book an alternate flight now to Saskatoon would be a minimum of $2,000 per person.

A request for comment has been sent to Global Affairs Canada, and the story will be updated when a response is received.

Separated from family on Christmas

Stewart Tasche, who flew out of Regina on Dec. 17 for a Mexican vacation in Cancun, with plans to be with family on Christmas Eve, agrees.

"On 24th, we found out the flight was delayed, and we got a hotel room and we have been here essentially ever since," Tasche said.

"We found the actual flight that was supposed to take us back never had arrived here from Regina."

The delays meant being separated from family on Christmas.

"My grandson was away playing hockey. We missed time with him. Our daughter coming from Winnipeg had to cancel," he said.

So far, the Swift Current resident and his wife have spent $250 US just in taxi fares, and the couple had to pay for their own rooms and meals for three nights and counting.

"Some people have been sleeping on the lobby floors in Cancun," he said.

No flight at airport

Tasche said on multiple occasions, they have been at the airport only to find no staff or to receive incorrect information.

"Last night, we were told to be at the airport to board a flight home. When we reached there, we learned there was no such flight," Tasche said.

"They are providing misinformation to their own customers. There is absolutely no information or communication Sunwing is providing to people here."

Many flights from other operators are now either already booked or too expensive. Some stuck in Cancun shared on social media that they were seeing prices quoted as high as $6,000.

Other people in Cancun also informed CBC that a flight that was expected to leave later in the day on Monday instead left abruptly in the early morning.

In an email statement, Sunwing said it regrets and apologizes for the impact to its customers' travel plans.. 

"As a result of severe winter weather in recent days across key Canadian gateways, which has limited our ability to move planes and crew to other airports, a number of northbound return flights continue to be impacted by delays," the statement said. But many disregard that as a valid reason, as other operators are continuing their flights.

Tasche said he doesn't believe it's only the weather to blame, as other operators are flying.

"They are deceitful, disreputable and should pay the price to individuals stranded in Cancun," Tasche said, noting that between his flight and one other from Regina, there could be up to 400 people from Saskatchewan waiting there.

"We have no idea when we'll leave. We are waiting with credit cards being charged every day, and that's all we can do."