According to class counsel LPC Avocats of Montreal, Bell began conducting a network update at the airport for an infrastructure upgrade that “went sour, causing absolute chaos,” impacting computer systems and paralyzing airport operations.
“Bell Canada manages the [Montreal Airport’s] infrastructure,” the statement of claim read. “Although Bell Canada declared that ‘the upgrade was tested in the lab’, it is obvious from the result that they did not have a lab that is a replication of production.”
“Additionally, they did not have the proper roll-back in place, which would have swiftly prevented the chaos on the morning of March 25, 2025, through March 26, 2025,” according to the claim. Bell and the airport, the same day, had “admitted their involvement and liability … and also admitted that the class members suffered damages for which they apologized.”
The claim notes that the applicant was travelling from Montreal to Cancun with Sunwing. The flight was supposed to depart at 9:30 a.m. She was first notified that the flight would leave at 4 p.m., without Sunwing stating a reason, and was later notified that that time had changed to 10 p.m. due to a power outage. She was finally notified that the flight would depart at 6:45 a.m. the next day.
The claim alleged that neither the carrier nor the airport offered the applicant any form of compensation. The airport did offer a water bottle and a mini-bag of Welch’s candied fruit. The claim cited news reports saying that the delays were mainly at check-in for Air Canada and Sunwing domestic and international flights.
The class was defined as all persons impacted by the outage at the airport that began March 25 until the issue was resolved. Class members suffered real and quantifiable damages caused by the defendants’ gross negligence and failure to inform, the claim alleged.
“Sunwing could have mitigated its damages by informing Applicant and all of their passengers of the outage early in the morning of March 25, 2025, before they arrived to the airport, but Sunwing did not have enough staff (with only 3 or 4 employees on site to manage the chaos that morning),” it said.
“Additionally, the troubles and inconvenience caused as a direct result of the Defendants’ faults and gross negligence as alleged above exceed the normal inconveniences that a person travelling in the twenty-first century encounters and should be required to accept. Indeed, a full day stuck in an airport — on a Sunwing or Air Canada ticket — is unacceptable.”
Relief sought included compensatory damages, including a reduction in obligations and damages for stress, troubles and inconvenience, loss of enjoyment, reimbursement of all expenses/costs incurred and lost time from work, for which the aggregate amounts on behalf of the class will be determined on the merits.
Punitive damages were also sought for a violation of the Consumer Protection Act and the Quebec Charter and to ensure that a major disruption is mitigated in the future. Class members were estimated to be in the thousands.
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