A WestJet passenger has been kicked off his flight for taking a sleeping tablet and falling asleep before takeoff. The flight from Toronto, Canada to Cayo Coco, Cuba was preparing for takeoff when the cabin crew demanded he is woken in case of an emergency, his wife decided to leave him asleep as he had pain in his leg and was tired. Flight attendants then woke him, called paramedics and he was taken off the plane in a wheelchair, the paramedics analyzed him and decided he was fit to fly. The flight had already departed and WestJet refused to give him a free transfer, leaving him and his family to pay $1,500 for accommodation and a new flight.
The man was using a prescribed tablet after having a stroke earlier this year and was heading out on a $4,000 family holiday. WestJet, however, was unsympathetic to the man saying “These decisions are not taken lightly but are made for the safety of the guest in question, other guests on the aircraft and our crews, we stand by our crew’s decisions and believe that what we have offered to this guest is reasonable under the circumstances.” The man denies he has received any compensation besides a seat upgrade on the rebooked flight to Cuba. Canada’s official air regulations say “an air operator is forbidden to transport a person whose actions… at the time of check-in or boarding indicate they may present a risk to the safety of the aircraft, the crew or themselves” He is planning to take WestJet to court seeking an apology and compensation for the ordeal.
WestJet’s new Boeing 787 full photo credit