Following a system outage last week, Sunwing announced in a new travel advisory dated Sunday, 06NOV that it is continuing to execute a scheduled recovery plan and anticipates "a return to near normal operations by Tuesday (08NOV.)"
As reported by Open Jaw on 03NOV, on 02NOV, Sunwing was affected by a system disruption that was ultimately reported to be caused by a cyber-attack on a third-party provider and affected some flight plans. According to the operator, the outage also affected "multiple" other airlines across North America.
Reports said the affected third-party provider appeared to be Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen, which provides analytical services to air carriers. As reported by the National Post, Jeppesen was impacted by a "cyber incident" which affected certain flight planning products and services.
The carrier previously announced that operations were beginning to recover by 03NOV, but delays were still expected as the operator continued to clear a backlog of affected flights.
As per the latest advisory on 06NOV, Sunwing says it has recovered the ability to file flight plans and dispatch flights. "The logistics of doing so took time as we navigated the various complexities of flight recovery with all those involved in all the destinations we operate from," the carrier elaborated.
Sunwing said further complications arose from "various operationally restrictive weather patterns," but said it continues to "proactively mitigate the effects of foreseeable challenges" to its recovery plan and will react to new unforeseen challenges as they occur.
According to Sunwing, every passenger experiencing a delay in destination will be provided a return flight home, and while delayed, its teams continue doing "everything they can to keep customers up to date and comfortable," providing meal vouchers, arranging transfer services and securing hotel rooms for those who are impacted overnight.
Customers can continue checking their flight statuses on Sunwing's web site for information on travel times, while customers in destination can chat live with a Sunwing Virtual Concierge in the Sunwing app, connect with their local Sunwing representative or reach out to Sunwing Cares.
"As we work around the clock to ensure our customers can get back to travel as soon as possible, the resolution is within sight and we thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding," Sunwing wrote.
