Stranded passengers on grounded Air Transat flight voice final concerns

Appalled passengers are coming forwardtodispute Air Transat'sclosing argumentinto what happened onboard a pair of infamous flights stranded on an Ottawatarmac this past summer.

The flights, from Brussels and Rome to Montreal, were divertedon July 31 due to poor weather. After landing in Ottawa, passengers were kept aboard the planes on the tarmac for up to six hours and reported there was no air conditioning and little food or water.

• 'You can't do this to us': Fuming passengers stuck on planes for hours call 911

These complaints are at the centre of a rare public inquiry launched by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to uncover if there was any wrongdoing.

• Air Transat passengers describe 'deplorable' treatment at first day of inquiry
• Airlinedefends actions at stranded passenger inquiry

Passengers had until Oct. 11 for their last chance to air their grievances before the agency started deliberating. The agency'sdecision is expected this fall.

I am quite appalled that Air Transat is claiming they have done right by us...- Vanessa Baratta, Passenger

AirTransat'sfinal argumentsblamed the tarmac delays for aseries of circumstances beyond the airline's control.

Here are some of the recent submissions from passengers on flighton TS507from Rome to Montreal.

Note: The following submissions to the CTA havebeen edited for length and clarity.

From passengerMazen El-Bawabwhose wife was pregnant:

"In such situations, it is extremely important to take the voice of the consumer into consideration ... A pregnant woman stranded on a flight is not a matter to be taken lightly. The safety of my wife and soon-to-be born daughter is in question here.

...my pregnant wife was feeling ill after hours with no food or water- Mazen El-Bawab, Passenger

Passengers inside the aircraft were in fact complaining (at least I know I did complain to the aircrew that my wife was about to lose [consciousness].)

When I went to complain to the aircrew because my pregnant wife was feeling ill after hours of no food or water, not only were they having drinks altogether in the back of the plane, nothing more than "call the paramedics" was offered...neither the crew nor the commander took any of that into consideration.

It angers me even more to know that, in fact, there was water andfood left yet we were not offered any even after I complained to the crew. I would also like to add that, had I not been too busy and focused trying to keep my wife from losing conscience, I would havecalled 911 too."

From Vanessa Barattawho says only passengersin first class ate:

"I am appalled to have read that Air Transat is claiming they provided passengers on flight TS507water or food. We only received water hours into our delay and only after numerous passengers complained or had to chase down an attendant for water. I was one of those passengers and it took over three hours to get a glass of water.

...it took over 3 hours to get a glass of water- Vanessa Baratta, Passenger

I would also like to point out that the only passengers to receive food on our flight were those in first class as I was directly seated behind them."

From Alan and Patricia Abraham who say the air conditioning was not working:

"According to Air Transat the air conditioning was working properly - set at approximately 24 degrees. The temperature in thecabin was very hot to the point where passengers were becoming ill and some started to vomit due to theair quality and heat.

The first time we heard there was an apology was during the inquiry. There has been absolutely no contact from Air Transat to us.

Patricia asked a male flight attendant about disembarking and his response was 'Customs will not allow it."

In summary, we were appalled by the way this was handled by the flight crew. Some attendants were very rude with passengers. We feel Air Transat has not taken responsibility towards this whole ordeal even after all the submissions from passengers and how they felt."

Air Transat's final argument