Passenger Woke Up Inside An Abandoned Plane At Toronto Airport

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Flight Passenger Woke Up From Her Nap On An Abandoned Plane

A passenger on an Air Canada flight was left stranded inside of an empty and locked plane on the tarmac of Toronto Pearson International Airport after she fell asleep and was never alerted of their arrival.

Tiffani Louise O’Brien was flying to Toronto on June 9, only to wake up hours later in a “completely pitch black” aircraft.

“I thought, this is a nightmare,” O’Brien told CTV News. “This is not happening. I’m having a bad dream. Wake up, Tiffani.”

The stranded passenger remembers seeing a number of text messages from her friend Deanna Noel-Dale, who was with her before her flight in Quebec City, and dropped her off at the airport. She recalls receiving a text from Tiffani at around 11:45 p.m. which stated that she just woke up and was stranded on the plane. O’Brien then tried to FaceTime Noel-Dale, but their conversation was cut short when Tiffani’s phone battery died.

After many failed attempts to get in touch with Tiffani, her friend contacted Pearson Airport to alert them of her friend’s situation. In the meantime, O’Brien searched for a way out–all without the help of her phone, since the plane’s lack of power prevented her from charging her device.

Eventually, Tiffani was able to make it into the cockpit of the aircraft where she found a flashlight. With Pearson Airport in her sight, she tried to signal for help, but her efforts were unsuccessful. Following that, she was able to unlock the plane’s door where she faced yet another obstacle–the drop to the tarmac was too high up for her, so she tried getting anyone’s attention with her flashlight.

Whether it was her flashlight or Noel-Dale’s call to Pearson Airport, help was finally on the way to O’Brien.

“When I see the luggage cart driving towards me I am literally dangling my legs out of the plane … he is in shock asking how the heck they left me on the plane.”

A spokesman for Air Canada, Peter Fitzpatrick, said the airline is “still reviewing this matter” so they “have no additional details to share” but they have followed up with the stranded customer and remain in contact with her.”