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Cancun International Airport has had millions of travelers pass through over the last few months but the most recent crowding at the airport has been due to Volaris overbookings that are causing long wait times and passenger anxiety. Most recently nearly 300 travelers were left waiting and wondering what was going on, causing worry and aggravation among those trying to get home. While part of the reason for the long wait times is due to lack of staff, in many cases the delays are caused by overbookings that sometimes lead to canceled tickets and/or flights.
There has been a recent uptick in flight cancellations lately that are often the result of staff shortages, although some have to do with weather conditions in certain areas as well. Just recently 10 flights between the U.S. and Cancun were canceled at the last minute, leaving hundreds of travelers stranded at Cancun International Airport and at airports around the United States.
Sometimes these stranded passengers do not get an opportunity to get on another flight until at least the next day, which can cause all kinds of problems for those needing to return to their daily lives. In the case of the situation with Volaris, the 300 people left waiting and wondering caused chaos in Terminal 2 of Cancun Airport as people waited 2 hours or more just to get into the boarding area. Reports say that people were visibly annoyed and upset as they waited to hear word regarding the status of their flights and for direction as to what they should do.
Many of the Volaris passengers were unsure if they would even be able to travel that day, despite the fact that they had tickets for flights. According to reports Volaris prioritized certain flights, while others were left behind. Flights to three major Mexican cities were given priority, which included Monterrey, Mexico City, and Guadalajara.
There is no word as to why flights to these specific cities were given priority but it left a lot of other passengers waiting and wondering what the statuses of their flights were. The long wait times and the lack of information coming from the airline left many travelers thinking that this may be the new normal when traveling with Volaris.
A spokesperson for the airline made a public apology on Twitter that read, “We’re sorry about the drawbacks the overselling of your flight caused, we really understand your discomfort. Rest assured that we will take your comment into account to improve our service. We hope that in the future you can give us another opportunity.” Although the apology may have been a good gesture on the part of the airline, it likely did little to ease the discomfort of the inconvenienced passengers. Comments in response to the apology that Volaris tweeted out point to an ongoing problem with overbookings and canceled flights by the airline.
With so many organizations having issues with being able to fill positions since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been seeing staff shortages in all sectors of the travel industry. While some types of businesses have been able to adjust, others are having trouble carrying on as normal. The shortages that Volaris is experiencing, combined with the overbooking of seats on their flights, may be causing a lack of confidence among some of their customers but in all likelihood, things will eventually get back to normal.
The important thing to remember in these unprecedented times is that we have to adjust to the changes. Checking flight schedules before leaving for the airport and arriving early to get checked in will help at least a little bit of the irritation caused by the current situation.
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