Summary
- Stressful incident on Air Canada flight AC73 leads to cancellation, passenger removal, and replacement service AC2073 the next day.
- Flight attendant’s behavior causes tension after passenger requests blanket, resulting in police involvement and passenger disembarkment.
- Replacement flight to Montreal was operated the next day as AC2073, following the controversial incident on original flight AC73.
Recent travelers on an Air Canada flight from Morocco to Canada were shocked when the flight attendant started yelling at passengers onboard. AC73 was subsequently canceled as the airline investigated the matter in more detail.
On Friday, July 26, Air Canada flight AC73 was scheduled to operate from Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport (CMN) at 08:50, destined for Montreal Trudeau International Airport (YUL) with an arrival time of 11:50; the airline services the route six times weekly between the two francophone cities.
Photo: Air Canada
According to data from Flightradar24, the aircraft had departed the gate and was taxiing for the runway when the event occurred. However, following the incident, the decision was made to return to the gate to ensure the safety of everybody onboard.
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All caught on camera
A video shared by FL360aero on X (formally Twitter) identified the bi-lingual flight attendant yelling at passengers in both French and English, stating:
“I don’t want no bullying against my crew, ok? Everyone behave.”
A passenger had asked for a blanket to keep warm due to excessive air conditioning, which raised tensions and led the stewardess to call the local police to remove the passenger from the aircraft. In support of the disembarked passenger, other travelers decided to disembark the aircraft, leading to Air Canada canceling the service.
The aircraft that was expected to operate the flight was a 23-year-old Airbus A330-300, bearing registration C-GHLM (serial number 419). According to ch-Aviation, an online aviation database, it is configured with 32 business, 24 premium, and 241 economy class seats and is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-60 engines.
Replacement flight
The following day, the aircraft was re-scheduled to operate a replacement service to Montreal, departing as AC2073, which departed on Saturday, July 27 at 15:08 for the seven-hour and 11-minute journey across the Atlantic Ocean to Montreal, touching down at 17:19. It remains unclear if the flight attendant at the center of the controversy was onboard the flight.
Photo: Air Canada
Air Canada operates head-to-head with Royal Air Maroc on the route, with the Moroccan carrier serving the route double daily, with a mix of Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft. The Casablanca-based airline follows this schedule:
Casablanca to Montreal
- AT206 departs Casablanca at 08:00, arriving in Montreal at 10:30
- AT208 departs Casablanca at 17:30, arriving in Montreal at 19:50
Montreal to Casablanca
- AT207 departs Montreal at 12:15, arriving in Casablanca at 23:55
- AT209 departs Montreal at 21:50, arriving in Casablanca the following morning at 09:30
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