Air Canada has apologized after two passengers were forced to sit in seats coated in vomit on a previous trip.
Susan Benson, a passenger traveling from Las Vegas to Montreal on August 26, shared details about the incident online.
"There was a bit of a foul odor, but we didn't know what the problem was at first." Someone had vomited in that region on the previous trip. "Air Canada attempted a quick clean before boarding but clearly was unable to do a thorough clean," Benson said on Facebook on August 29.
"They placed coffee grinds in the seat pouch and sprayed perfume to mask the smell. When the clearly upset passengers tried to explain to the flight attendant that the seat and seatbelt were wet and there was still visible vomit residue in their area, the flight attendant was very apologetic but explained that the flight was full and there was nothing they could do," she added.
Did you read this?
The passengers and crew "argued back-and-forth for several minutes," according to Benson, before a supervisor came over and reaffirmed that the customers would have to sit in the vomit-covered seats because the flight was full.
Benson describes how a pilot approached the passengers and told them that "they could leave the plane... must arrange their own tickets, or they will be removed off the plane by security and placed on a no-fly list!"
According to the explanation, they were "rude" to the flight attendant, although Benson rejects this.
"They were most definitely not! She wrote, "They were upset and firm, but not rude!"
Even though a fellow passenger attempted to explain the issue, security took the pair from the plane.
"What for?" Refusing to sit in vomit for five hours!" Benson wrote, adding that the airline "actually expects" its passengers to "sit in vomit or be removed off the plane and placed on a no-fly list!"
She then admitted that she didn't know if the passengers had been placed on a no-fly list.
"I am embarrassed to be a Canadian, and I am ashamed of Air Canada," she wrote. "You, Air Canada, are a disgrace!" You should be ashamed!"
CNN has reached out to Benson for additional comment.
Air Canada told CNN in a statement that it had apologized to the customers "as they clearly did not receive the standard of care to which they were entitled."
"We are reviewing this serious matter internally and have followed up with the customers directly as our operating procedures were not followed correctly in this instance," the statement continued.
"We remain in contact with them about this matter," the airline added.
In recent months, this is not the first incident involving bodily fluids on planes.
