Quebec family stranded in Punta Cana says Air Canada tried to send children home alone

Four children, aged one to six, were booked on separate Air Canada flights from the parents as a family of 26 was stranded in Punta Cana.

Serge Vandal and about 30 members of his family and friends have been stuck in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, since Sunday because of the Air Canada flight attendants’ strike.

To make matters worse, he told Noovo Info they had to refuse return flights scheduled for Aug. 24 and 25 because the airline planned to have four children aged six and under travel alone.

“They [Air Canada] decided that they were just names or numbers. They decided that my four grandchildren, [aged one to six], would go to Toronto alone, have a midnight layover in Toronto, and then fly alone to Montreal while the parents left around the same time directly for Montreal,” Vandal said.

“It’s not pleasant at all. I would never let my children do that. It’s not possible.”

According to Noovo Info’s report, Air Canada’s decision to fly very young children contradicted the airline’s own unaccompanied minor policy.

“They didn’t check, they just hit the panic button thinking it had to be fixed; they didn’t go any further,” Vandal added.

The group also doesn’t understand why they must wait so long to return to Montreal when there seem to be several available seats on earlier direct flights.

One member of the group checked on Thursday morning and found seats that appeared to be open.

“There are enough seats on the 21st and 22nd to get all of us home and end this nightmare we are living,” reads an email—including screenshots—sent to the group’s travel agency, of which Noovo Info obtained a copy.

According to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, when a cancellation is beyond the carrier’s control, the airline must provide passengers with a confirmed reservation free of charge.

The flight must be on the next available departure operated either by the same carrier or a partner airline, Noovo Info reports.

It also has to follow a reasonable route from the airport where the passenger is stranded to the destination on their original ticket, and it must leave within 48 hours of the original departure time.

High costs of staying longer

Since their flight was cancelled, the group has also been racking up expenses.

“It’s about US$380 extra per day for couples. We are three couples; the rest of the group are families with 3 or 4 kids. My daughter has four children; it costs her about $800 extra per day,” explained Vandal.

Some in the group, including teachers, also missed work as planned this week, Noovo Info reported.

“It’s demoralizing. Sure, there’s the pool, sun, and beach—but we can’t even go because there’s too much seaweed—it’s starting to get exhausting,” Vandal said.

Because of Air Canada’s policies, the group fears they won’t be reimbursed for the extra costs.

“The $3,000 or $4,000 we’ll spend is lost,” Vandal said, adding that his credit card companies told him there was no coverage in the event of a strike.

The group is now considering joining a class-action lawsuit against the Canadian Union of Public Employees if it moves forward.

According to Noovo Info, the request for authorization was filed by Lambert Avocats on behalf of a group of claimants seeking compensation for damages caused by Air Canada flight cancellations since Aug. 17.

“But how many years will it take to resolve this? What will we get after paying lawyers? We know it’s money lost. Vacations are nice, but they’re starting to get very expensive,” Vandal said, noting that the group was helping each other financially.

Noovo Info contacted Air Canada by email for clarification on Vandal’s situation, but did not receive a response by publication time.