Katelyn Langlois and J.P Robson were supposed to fly home Sunday afternoon from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, but cartel violence has shut down the local airport.
Global Affairs Canada issued a shelter in place order to Canadians in Puerto Vallarta, as it was one of multiple cities experiencing violence after the military killed a top cartel boss.
Speaking from their resort, Krystal Puerto Vallarta, just five kilometres from the city and next to the marina, Langlois spoke of being out on the streets when chaos erupted.
Langlois said they noticed a single billow of smoke prior to leaving the resort and thought it was from a singular house or car fire.
But they were wrong.
Prior to the grounding of flights, Robson said they joined many stranded travellers in the lobby as they waited for an airport shuttle that wasn’t going to arrive.
The pair said WestJet representatives visited the lobby and comped each impacted flyer two additional nights at the resort.
They said they feel relatively safe in the resort but an underlying tension exists because no one knows what could happen next.
Story by Grant Deme