It wasn’t the most pleasant start to a trip to sunny Palm Springs for a plane-full of Vancouver International Airport travellers, as their WestJet aircraft collided with a catering truck on the tarmac Thursday morning.
According to WestJet spokesperson, Morgan Bell, a WestJet flight bound for Palm Springs “made contact with a catering vehicle” while pushing off from its gate. The airline added guests and crew members were offloaded safely, but that the initial flight was cancelled and travellers were “re-accommodated onto a new aircraft scheduled to depart shortly.”
Several of the passengers took to social media to document their experience, with one passenger suggesting the plane's wing had been damaged.
Hey @WestJet what’s the game plan?? For a full fight to Palm Springs. @yvrairport doesn’t know how to push a plane back so flight is not happening. Who backs a plane into something at an airport?
— Matt Palsenbarg (@mattgolfLAB) January 3, 2019
Oh my @WestJet flight got canceled because our pilot wrecked the plane by driving into a truck on the tarmac. On the upside, I’m not in the air on a plane piloted by a pilot so incompetent he totaled a plane by taxiing into a truck.
— Trevor Risk (@SunshineSucks) January 3, 2019
“We sincerely apologize for the delay and any inconvenience this may have caused our guests and are working to get them on their way as soon as possible,” Bell said in an emailed statement.
A YVR spokesperson told the Richmond News that airport operations have returned to normal.