100s of passengers stranded when airline ends Mexico service

Hundreds of travelers from Minnesota who were left were stranded in Mexico after Sun Country Airlines canceled flights due to a storm at home had to scramble to find flights on other airlines because the carrier had ended its seasonal service south of the border.

Sun Country, based in Eagan, Minnesota, said the flights from Los Cabos and Mazatlan that were canceled Saturday were the last of the season. Sun Country spokeswoman Kelsey Dodson-Smith said the airline couldn’t send another plane to collect the stranded passengers because it would mean canceling other flights to other destinations, The Star Tribune reported.

Passengers will receive a refund for the return portion of their flight, the company said.

Emily Kladivo of Emily’s Travel Service helped some stranded passengers find alternative flights home. Heather Garnett and her family spent almost $2,000 to fly to Chicago and planned to drive back to Minneapolis, she said. Kladivo said she’s never experienced a similar situation and criticized the airline’s response.

“Weather is out of their control; how they’re handling the situation is in their control,” she said. “Send a plane, go get your passengers.”

Even if the airline couldn’t spare another plane, it could have chartered one or covered passengers’ alternate travel arrangements, she said.