A young Montreal family missed their flight after being stuck in traffic for more than 3.5 hours while trying to get to Montreal-Trudeau Airport on Saturday afternoon.
Catalina, her spouse and their 16-month-old baby left their L’Île-des-Sœurs neighborhood in a taxi at around 2:30 p.m. However, the closure of the on-ramp from Route 138 to Highway 20 West led to a huge traffic jam from the airport to downtown.
“When we left we saw it was 30 minutes, then it turned into an hour. We couldn’t get real traffic information,” Catalina told TVA Nouvelles. “It was crazy, it was stressful!”
The journey, which normally takes around 20 minutes, took 3:36 hours.
The cab bill, which should have been around $50, came to $216 including tip.
Jonathan Santos
Jonathan Santos
Catalina and her family finally arrived at the airport at 6:06 p.m. However, your flight to France had already taken off.
During the endless journey, the 16-month-old toddler was stressed and wanted to get out, “but couldn’t,” says the mother.
However, other travelers stuck in traffic decided to try walking.
“People got out their suitcases and started running,” she says. There were also mothers who tried to comfort their children and people who took their dogs into the streets.
“It was like a total nightmare,” claims Catalina.
Jonathan Santos
The family driver, Jonathan Santos, also regretted the situation on Saturday.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he told TVA Nouvelles.
“The ladies used to pee on the freeway!” he mentions.
Jonathan Santos
The one who has been a taxi driver for eight months has also been a truck driver in the past. According to him, it is inconceivable that the Department of Transportation blocked access to Highway 20 in broad daylight.
According to Santos, thousands of travelers to Europe and Asia will arrive at the airport on Saturday afternoon.
“You are blocking an important highway to get to the airport!” the taxi driver shouted.
Luckily for Catalina and her family, they were able to book another Air Canada flight to France Saturday night without having to pay for new airline tickets.
TVA Nouvelles tried to get a response from the Department of Transport but received no call back.