B.C. 'Swifties' miss out on L.A. concert after Flair Airlines diverts back to Vancouver under bizarre circumstances

A Flair Airlines flight had to return to Vancouver shortly after taking off Tuesday morning, devastating passengers with tickets to one of Taylor Swift's concerts in Los Angeles.

More than an hour into the flight, the plane diverted back to the Vancouver International Airport, where passengers were told there was a mechanical issue with the plane’s bathrooms. The passengers were initially told the flight was delayed, but then Flair officially canceled the flight at 4:08 p.m.

One passenger told CTV News she and a group of friends were supposed to attend Swift’s Tuesday night concert at SoFi Stadium.

”We’ve all just been looking forward to going to see her for so long and to have something like this stop us from going, it’s just a huge inconvenience,” said Annice Li, a Vancouver resident. “I would not recommend using Flair to go anywhere.”

Li says she and her friends each spent $2,000 per ticket and chose Flair to help offset the pricey purchase.

“We knew it was a gamble but we never would’ve imagined it would come to this.”

Li says in addition to missing the concert, she was unable to resell her ticket on official reselling websites due to the time being too close to the concert.

Another passenger with a ticket to Swift’s Wednesday concert in L.A. says the situation was chaotic with unclear communication.

“We stayed for several hours on the plane waiting, hoping the bathrooms would be fixed,” said Courtney Loftus, adding that the airline deboarded the plane, telling the passengers it wouldn’t be too long before canceling the flight, hours later. “They wouldn’t give us one sense or the other of what the plan was.”

A Flair Airlines spokesperson provided a statement to CTV News Vancouver.

“Due to an unforeseen mechanical issue impacting the lavatory system, the pilots made the decision to return to Vancouver,” reads the statement. “Hotel accommodations have been arranged for the night and we have successfully rescheduled a replacement flight for tomorrow morning, Aug. 9, at 9 a.m.”

The statement continues by saying, “Our team is working diligently to ensure everyone’s needs are met,” though it’s unclear if those who missed out on the Tuesday night Taylor Swift concert will be compensated.