In a rare public disagreement among crew members, the captain of Air Canada 139, an Airbus A320, and the three flight attendants on duty on June 8, argued about odd odors emanating from the aircraft ventilation system. The cabin crew thought they represented an unsafe condition; the captain did not. In the end, the flight attendants walked off the flight at the gate, leaving the hapless passengers sitting on the aircraft at Ottawa International Airport (CYOW) wondering whether to trust the captain or walk off the aircraft with the flight attendants. The aircraft sat on the ground for the next three hours, during which the captain tried convincing passengers there was no safety issue, while the airline searched for reserve flight attendants to crew the trip. One of the initial group of flight attendants did return to the flight, which eventually departed for Vancouver. A Vancouver-based Globe and Mail reporter, Gary Mason, was among the passengers and tweeted events as they occurred.
