Ontario family fears 14-year-old travelling alone could be stranded overseas due to Air Canada strike

The family of a 14-year-old girl is worried about what an ongoing Air Canada dispute may mean for her flight home. CTV’s Alexandra Holyk explains why.

The strike by Air Canada’s flight attendants has caused chaos for travellers. Some have been stuck overseas, while others have been left scrambling to find alternative arrangements after their flights were cancelled.

CTV News spoke to an Ontario woman who worries her 14-year-old granddaughter will be stranded – all alone – in Europe.

Marie Lewis said the teen was supposed to travel unaccompanied on an Air Canada flight from Paris, France to Toronto later this week, before returning home to Kitchener, Ont.

The strike has thrown that plan into question.

“It’s very scary for us,” Lewis said. “We’re all losing sleep.”

The teen’s flight has not yet been cancelled, but hundreds of others have been grounded due to the ongoing labour dispute.

“We’ve looked at other flights to get her back, just in case,” Lewis said. “Air Canada does whatever they decide they’re going to do, and it’s going to be over $3,000 for a one-way ticket to just get her back.”

She reached out to the airline to discuss options for granddaughter, without luck.

“They’re not even going to entertain me,” she told CTV News. “Even now, when you have a 14-year-old who is flying back by themselves. That’s not acceptable.”

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Lewis is not the only one airing her grievances with Air Canada.

The De Souza family were supposed to fly to Dublin, Ireland on Monday. They only learned about the flight’s cancellation when they arrived at the Region of Waterloo International Airport.

“Does it make sense to still go, or should we cancel and do something else,” said Tara De Souza. “We can’t make any decisions on our own right now because we’re at their mercy.”

CTV News also checked in with two sisters from Kitchener, Ont. who said the strike left them stranded in Scotland. They were supposed to fly into Toronto on Saturday.

Denise Marchant said they have since rebooked their trip on another airline.

“They finally got us flights out for Tuesday, because when we were looking at flights to book ourselves, each flight was charging over $3,000, $4,000 [or even] $5,000 just to get home.”

The sisters said they had trouble finding a route home because the last leg of their trip involved a shuttle bus to the Region of Waterloo International Airport (YKF).

“We no longer have the Air Canada shuttle bus to take us back to Kitchener,” said Marchant. “We’ve had to contact family to pick us up.”

Air Canada’s shuttle bus between YKF and Toronto’s Pearson Airport is still running, despite the cancellations, since customers flying with other airlines can also buy tickets.

Those who spoke with CTV News on Monday said they support the flight attendant’s fight for better wages, but wish the airline would prioritize communication with affected passengers.