Sunwing expects to be 'close to normal' operations by this weekend

Photo: The Canadian Press

Travellers wait in line at a Sunwing Airlines check-in desk at Trudeau Airport in Montreal, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Sunwing Airlines Inc. expects to be back to "close to normal operations" by this weekend after a cybersecurity breach that grounded travellers and delayed flights to and from sun destinations this week.

The Toronto-based leisure carrier said in a statement late Thursday that 158 flights have been affected since its network-wide system outage began on Sunday. Of those flights, 81 per cent have now been completed or are in progress, Sunwing said.

Sunwing continues to advise customers travelling over the next few days to check their flight status before heading to the airport.

"We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our customers for their patience this week as we work to get back to normal," Sunwing said in its statement.

Sunwing has apologized for the ongoing delays, which it has said are the result of a data security breach affecting Airline Choice, its third-party provider of passenger handling systems.

Sunwing employees have been forced to manually check in passengers while the technology platform is not working. In addition, Sunwing has subcontracted aircraft from other Canadian airlines, including WestJet, Air Transat and Nolinor Aviation, to help relieve the backlog at some airports.

Sunwing customers have reported flight delays — sometimes of more than 24 hours — and long wait times at airports in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, as well as difficulties accessing information about the status of the situation.