TORONTO – Hundreds of Canadian travelers are just starting to find out that the tickets they hold from the Guyanese and U.S. based discount airline carrier EzJet are worthless.
“It’s very disappointing, it’s the Christmas season. We make lots of arrangements, we already made plans like motels, where we have to stay?” said Toronto traveler Lilita Prasad.
EzJet suspended its service this week amid allegations the company’s founder embezzled money and no longer has funds to pay its bills.
Prasad is one of about sixty family members who were bound for Guyana this Christmas for a wedding and family reunion – her $710 tickets are now useless.
“It was a good time to go – take the children in Canada, to see homeland,” said Prasad.
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Tuesday night at Pearson Airport, travelers showed up for one of EzJet’s twice weekly flights from Toronto only to find out the airline was grounded.
“We gave a new airline a chance, not much competition, and we didn’t expect this,” said traveler Navin Badrinarayan.
The airline industry has seen discount carriers do this before.
In 2005, the low-cost carrier “Jets Go” stopped running and stranding 17,000 travelers.
In 2001, Canada 3000 left 50,000 grounded when it went belly up.
EzJet’s president Sonny Ramdeo is the subject of a lawsuit facing allegations he took money from another company to get his airline started. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also looking into the case.
Ontario regulators insisted on hefty guarantees from EzJet before allowing the company to operate in Canada.
The company’s Canadian assets have now been frozen along with its operating permit.
Although consumers should be able to get their money back, the bad news is it won’t happen immediately.
“Those consumers who have booked and paid for travel agency or EzJet can claim from us if they don’t get reimbursed by the agency,” said Michael Pepper, CEO of Travel Industry Council of Ontario.
EzJet has released a statement on the company website including a link for a refund. That information can be found here.
-with a report from Global Toronto’s Sean O’Shea
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