Air passenger protection legislation a joke, stuck-in-Newfoundland Canada Games athletes’s family says

A Winnipeg family stranded in Newfoundland by flight cancellations in the aftermath of Air Canada flight attendants’ short, but extremely disruptive, strike says federal legislation supposed to protect passengers isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

Vanessa Van Bewer, her husband, two children and the kids’ grandparents travelled to St. John’s on Aug. 8 to watch her 17-year-old son compete in the Canada Games on Team Manitoba’s basketball squad.

Their son, whose team finished fifth in the competition, flew home on a charter on the weekend, but the rest of the family hasn’t been able to get home. Her husband was forced to miss a long-awaited MRI appointment for a chronic condition that had been booked more than a year in advance.

She and another family member were left without adequate supplies of essential medications and scrambled to have their physicians green-light temporary prescriptions they could fill in St. John’s.

They’ve incurred steep expenses, spending nearly $1,000 a day on Airbnb accommodations, food and transportation for six people, all while losing income at home.

“I’ve been incredibly, incredibly frustrated,” Van Bewer told the Free Press Wednesday, five days after their scheduled flight home. “My son is 17, so he can look after himself. But we thought (they’d be delayed) 48 hours.”

After repeatedly pleading with Air Canada staff to move up their rebooking next Tuesday, they finally secured seats Wednesday on a Thursday flight.

Van Bewer said that despite Section 18.2 of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, which requires airlines to rebook passengers on another carrier if they cannot do so themselves within 48 hours, Air Canada agents at the airport and call centre refused to comply.

“Instead, we were told incorrect information, hung up on and denied our rights,” she said.

She added that while the family found several available flights on other airlines, Air Canada told them they couldn’t be booked because the available seats weren’t in economy class.

“We have regulations that say you have to do this within 48 hours, but what happens when they don’t?” Van Bewer said. “There’s nothing that happens. It’s a toothless regulation with really no point to it. The only people who are penalized are the passengers.”

Air Canada said Wednesday it is prioritizing efforts to get customers to their destinations as quickly as possible, after a deal was struck between the airline and the union representing flight attendants Tuesday.

“Air Canada will cover transport which customers may have incurred to get to their destination,” a spokesperson said in an email. “If customers had a flight scheduled to depart between Aug. 15-23 that was cancelled, and made alternate arrangements themselves if Air Canada was unable to rebook them, we will cover these transportation expenses.”

Desperate to return home, Van Bewer said she also appealed to Team Manitoba’s Chef de Mission, Drew Todd, asking if the family could pay for seats on the team’s charter flight back to Winnipeg on Sunday.

She said they were told that wasn’t possible — even under extraordinary circumstances — even if seats were available. Van Bewer claims there were at least 10 open on the flight.

“What supports were they going to offer for families… that would not be back in Winnipeg for the foreseeable future?” Van Bewer wrote to Todd, who has led Manitoba’s contingent three times.

That email has gone unanswered since Saturday, she said. Prior to that, the family was told they could remove their son from the charter, but Van Bewer said finding a new flight was even more difficult than getting rebooked.

“It was just such an unreasonable and unworkable solution,” she said.

In an email to the family, Todd apologized and explained that provincial teams are generally not involved in scheduling or organizing participant flights.

“The Games Council, who organizes all the charters, have told us they are unable to allow non-accredited people onto the planes,” he wrote.

On Wednesday, Todd added that spectator travel arrangements are managed independently of the Games.

“We know how frustrating and disappointing the travel disruptions have been for Team Manitoba families,” he said. “We have been encouraging those whose travel plans have been affected to contact their airlines directly for assistance.”

Van Bewer said the experience has left her feeling that Canada’s athletes are supported during competition, but forgotten as soon as their events are over.

“The Canada Games celebrated athletes, but parents were kicked to the curb like excess baggage,” she said.

The Games Council said Wednesday its responsibility was with the participants, and sympathized with families affected by the strike.

“The impacts of the Air Canada flight attendant strike and subsequent lockout were far-reaching, disrupting travel plans of so many, including families and supporters of Canada Games athletes,” said an emailed statement on behalf of Canada Games Council chief executive officer Kelly-Ann Paul. “During this upheaval, the focus and responsibility of the Canada Games Council remained on the safe transit of over 5,000 participants. It’s heartbreaking to know that some family and friends have been unable to travel to see their loved ones compete or return home because of the strike.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca