Air Canada passengers delayed for 32 hours in Costa Rica, including nine on runway

Canada’s CBC News reported today that an Air Canada flight had been delayed for 32 hours at Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría International Airport – not because of inclement weather or volcanic ash, but because of an administrative error.

The 273 passengers on the flight from San José to Toronto boarded the plane at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 8, then sat on the runway until 7:15 p.m. except for a 1.5-hour break during which they deplaned and purchased food, passengers told CBC News.

The reason for the delay was that the passenger head count did not match computer records, CBC reported.

At 7:15 p.m., the flight was officially cancelled and passengers were given hotel and food vouchers. However, according to Toronto-based news site City News, the nightmare did not end there; passengers returned to the airport the following day, Monday, Jan. 9, to find themselves subject to a chaotic check-in process, according to the site.

Twitter user @PMachadoLaw posted photos of the makeup flight scene before the harried travelers finally took off, 2.5 hours late.