Maritime travel experts weigh in on deadly unrest in Mexico

An unsettling situation unfolding in the western part of Mexico has Maritime travel experts weighing in.

“We have certainly seen lots of violence over the years in Mexico and it’s not good,” said CTV Travel Expert, Loren Christie. “I’m not saying that it’s a good thing, it’s a terrible thing and it’s a thing we should all be well aware of, but it has happened before.”

But with Mexico being one of the top sun destinations for Maritimers, he says he can’t see that changing, even with the current situation.

“It will happen again and people make those risk assessments when they choose their destinations based on what their interested in, which tends to be for Canadians sun, warmth and convenience and a good buck,” he said.

The violence and unrest comes following the arrest of a son of notorious jailed drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Christie says that over the last few years, areas like Mazatlan and Acapulco have actually come up as places that are a little bit more dangerous to visit.

“When you start looking at some of the numbers per capita the numbers of murders or violent events that happen, Mexico is not actually that far off from some of the other Caribbean Islands,” said Christie. “It’s just that it’s a much bigger country with a lot higher number of Canadian travellers who go there so we hear about it more in the news.”

However, that doesn’t take away from the severity of the situation that’s taking place in the country right now.

“My advice for travellers would be: follow what the government authorities are saying, both in the destination and here in Canada. So look at the department of foreign affairs, follow those travel advisories and just adhere to them,” he said.

As for the Canadians who are stuck right now waiting to get back to Canada, the airline has a responsibility to get passengers home, but other expenses associated with the delay will have to come out of pocket according to Air Passenger Rights president, Gábor Lukács.

“The airline is not responsible for this type of flight cancellation. This is one time where I urge people to show a lot of understanding and patience to the airline themselves,” he said.

Adding, “they are themselves scrambling, they might have crew members for whom they are morally or legally responsible and they want to rescue them or don’t want to put them in harms way. So try to stay safe and unfortunately this is an expense that passengers have to pay for themselves.”

As for passengers who haven’t left yet and are now facing cancellations, Lukács says they are entitled to a refund and he personally would not travel to Mexico right now.

“This is a truly extraordinary situation and this is why I’m encouraging passengers to be understanding,” he said.

Even with closed airports in Mexico, Lukács says larger airlines like Air Canada, West Jet and Swoop still have an obligation to rebook passengers within 48 hours.

“If they cannot rebook within 48 hours, the passenger from their own network, the original itinerary, than they have to rebook the passenger on any airline, including competitors and for any airport that is reasonably distanced from the original airport,” he said.

“So, actually, an airline can be even compelled under law to rebook a passenger from a different airport, if that airport is safe, however, getting to a different airport can itself pose some safety challenges.”

However, as for travellers who are now wary of travelling to the country, there isn’t much they can do unless the airline decides to cancel the flight all together.

“If the passenger chooses not to travel for whatever serious reason that may be, as long as the flight is able to operate, I don’t see much legal recourse,” said Lukács.

“Airlines would be wise in this situation to be flexible with passengers, to allow passengers to back out and maybe give a future credit,” he adds. “This is a time where future credit, if it is the passenger cancelling and not the airline, would be adequate and reasonable in the circumstances.”