‘Happy to be home and safe’: Maritimers relieved to return from Puerto Vallarta

Some Maritimers are still trying to get home from Mexico following severe violence in the country over the weekend.

Aaron Murnaghan is one of many people grateful to be back on Canadian soil, after violence and unrest ensued across Mexico following the death of a drug cartel leader.

“The first three quarters of the trip went perfectly to plan. It was a very peaceful town. There was a lot of tourists around. There’s a lot of lively activity. We went out on the town Saturday night, staying out quite late and when we woke up the next morning, it was to the sound of gunshots and cars exploding,” says Murnaghan.

He says his flight back home to Halifax was unaffected and hopes his friends who are still in the area make it back safely.

“I do have some friends that are still stuck down there in limbo, waiting to see when they’ll be able to fly out. So, I’ll certainly be checking in with them,” he says.

“I was starting to enjoy the warm weather down there, but happy to be home and safe for sure.”

Meanwhile, others haven’t been so lucky.

Michelle Connerty says her family travelled from Vancouver to Puerto Vallarta on Feb 15.

She says WestJet cancelled their returning flight on Sunday and told her to stand by for the next one.

But she says progress with the airline had stalled.

“Every person I talk to gives me a different story. There’s no cohesiveness to this. There’s obviously no plan,” says Connerty. “The cost of the hotel room for me tonight will be $400 U.S plus, and the option is to try to go and find a cheaper place and go out there, but I don’t know what’s safe and where is safe.”

CTV News reached out to WestJet for comment about Connerty’s situation.

Connerty confirmed with CTV News late Wednesday that WestJet had rebooked her family on a flight out of Puerto Vallarta for Thursday night.

“It is nice to see that the tour operators did allow some flexibility in rebooking and re-protection. And now that things are starting to quiet down in Mexico, everybody is getting on their way home or will soon be home and then getting ready for their next travel plans,” says Myranda Miller, the branch manager with Maritime Travel.

“(Mexico) has been a popular destination for many years and will continue to be.”