Canadá

Girl, 15, stranded alone overnight at Calgary airport after Air Canada delay, WestJet ticket error

A B.C. family wants answers after their 15-year-old daughter was stranded alone overnight in the Calgary International Airport.

Emma Fenton was flying solo from Kelowna to visit family in Fort St. John on March 23.

But she got stuck late at night in the Calgary airport after an Air Canada flight delay, a route change and the issuance of an incomplete WestJet ticket.

Stepmother Christy Fenton had been awaiting Emma’s flight in Fort St. John.

“I felt very helpless, knowing she was there by herself at the airport [in Calgary].”

Emma spent the night on the airport floor as her parents attempted to reach Air Canada and WestJet.

“I was just so tired and so ready to go home,” said the teen

The problems began that morning in Kelowna, where Emma’s initial flight was delayed by a combination of spring break travel volumes and the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes, said her family.

Rerouted to Calgary

When it appeared Emma would miss her connecting flight, Air Canada offered to reroute her to Calgary where she could catch a WestJet flight to Fort St John.

But WestJet agents in Kelowna weren’t able to “complete” her new ticket or give her a boarding pass, the family said.

She was told the matter would be resolved at the departure gate in Calgary.

But once in Calgary, Emma said, WestJet staff directed her to leave the airport’s secure area and visit the WestJet ticket counter.

But by then, the WestJet and Air Canada counters were not staffed, and her flight left without her.

‘They didn’t do the right thing’

Emma has flown many times between her parents’ homes. But she said nothing quite prepared her for the runaround that left her stranded.

“They didn’t even try to be helpful at all,” she said of airline staff. “They [were] just kinda like — not our problem, go away. That’s kinda what it felt like.”

Her stepmother said the airlines should have done more to help the young traveller.

“They didn’t do the right thing. They left a 15-year-old without a confirmed flight and then sent her out through security when there was no one there to help her,” said Christy Fenton.

“Not one, but two airlines dropped the ball,” she said.

‘Hadn’t slept in over 24 hours’

The next morning, Emma was able to fly out of Calgary — but only as far as Grande Prairie, Alta., more than two hours from her destination of Fort St John.

“She was  a mess actually,” said Christy Fenton, who drove to the Alberta airport to pick her up. “She hadn’t slept in over 24 hours … she was pretty drained.”

Solo travellers over 12 treated like adults

WestJet deferred questions about Emma’s trip to Air Canada, the original booking agent, but said guests over age 12 who travel alone are subject to adult travel policies

Air Canada said Emma should have had adequate time to sort out any problems with her ticket during her Calgary layover, and “can’t explain” WestJet’s actions or their direction to leave the secure area.

It’s not the first time a travelling teenager has been stranded alone at a major Canadian airport.

In 2017, 2016, and 2013, families complained after boys aged 15 and 13 were stuck alone overnight at the Toronto airport.

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Fonte
CBC

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