Air Transat has issued a statement apologizing to passengers who were stuck for hours on an Ottawa runway on Monday.
A woman who was aboard the flight says she and other passengers were forced to stay in the plane for six hours in uncomfortably warm conditions.
Maryanne Zehil says the plane, which originated in Brussels, was meant to land in Montreal but the 336 passengers were told it would not be possible because of storms and the captain diverted the plane to Ottawa.
Zehil says some passengers were having trouble breathing because of the heat, and water bottles were handed out after the passengers had been on the Airbus A-300 for 15 hours in total, and after one person had called 9-1-1.
Air Transat says nearly flights were diverted to Ottawa, where staff were unable to provide loading bridges or stairs to let passengers off the Brussels or replenish the empty drinking water reservoir.
In Ottawa, a spokesperson in the federal Transport Department says such incidents will not be able to happen again once Bill C-49 becomes law.
The legislation will force airlines to give passengers water, food and the possibility of getting off a plane, as long as it is safe, after being stuck three hours on a runway.