Swoop adds weekly flights to Punta Cana from Hamilton airport

Swoop airlines have added weekly flights from Hamilton to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic this winter.

The inaugural flight took off Wednesday morning from Hamilton’s international airport. Flights to Punta Cana with Swoop airlines will run until the end of April and a round trip will cost passengers around $400 round trip.

Swoop tells CHCH News non-stop flights to the sunny hotspot will take off on Wednesdays and Saturdays and can be included with WestJet vacation packages. The airline adds it may extend flights into the summer season.

Over the storm-plagued holidays, many Canadian travellers were mired with issues that included lost baggage, delays, and even cancellations. Hundreds of passengers who flew Sunwing were stranded at their destinations. The popular airline has since apologized.

READ MORE: Thousands of Sunwing passengers still stranded abroad following technical issue

During a federal announcement in Port Colborne on Wednesday, Canada’s transport minister Omar Alghabra addressed the holiday havoc.

“There was an unfortunate decision made by one airline operator. The rules are there to protect passengers. Sunwing committed to compensate their passengers, I spoke with the CEO, as I know that is ongoing as we speak,” Alghabra said.

READ MORE: Sunwing issues formal apology to customers for travel delays

The U.S. federal aviation administration grounded all nationwide flights Wednesday morning following a computer outage, causing thousands of delays and cancellations.

“We still need all the facts, good news I’m hearing flights are beginning to start up again, but we’ve been in contact with our U.S. partners to understand what had happened,’ Alghabra said.