A group of teenage scouts heading to the Yukon for a long-planned camping trip ended up unrolling their sleeping bags on the YVR floor after their Air Canada flight was cancelled.
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A scouting group of 20 teens and two adult leaders heading from Quebec for a long-planned camping trip to the Yukon got stuck in Vancouver when Air Canada began a massive cancellation of summer flights.
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Instead of arriving in Whitehorse on Saturday, they deployed sleeping bags to sleep on the floor of YVR gate B26 after their flight was first delayed and then canceled after their connecting flight via Toronto from the quebec city.
They thought there would be a flight on Sunday, but woke up to find there wouldn’t be one until at least Wednesday night.
“We didn’t sleep well, so the energy level is a little lower than yesterday, but we are trying to keep a smile,” said Sophie Labrecque, 16, who is part of the Poste Sagarmatha-Mahikan scouting group. cluster.
Others on the trip, like 14-year-old Ludovick St-Pierre, also helped bring the group together as adult organizers pressed Air Canada representatives for better options.
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Naturally, they were hesitant to leave the airport without reasonable alternative plans.
After being unable to find flights to Calgary or Edmonton, they attempted to rent two vans even though it would mean a 28-hour drive from Vancouver to Whitehorse.
“We don’t want to risk waiting three days for our flight and then getting postponed or cancelled,” Labrecque said of the reasoning.
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Since their largest backpacks for the trip were searched, they only had their carry-on luggage.
“We had the idea to put our sleeping bags in our little bags, so that was the best idea we had,” St-Pierre said.
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The scout group plans and saves to go on a big trip like this every three years. They had been dreaming of perhaps reaching the Arctic Circle.
Air Canada gave them $10 meal coupons each, so they went back and forth to Tim Hortons and the newsstand.
Last week, Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau announced in an email to customers that he will have to cancel more than 150 daily flights in July and August due to “unprecedented and unforeseen stresses” in the aviation industry. world.
“Despite careful and detailed planning, the largest and fastest contracting scale in our history, as well as investments in aircraft and equipment, it is now clear that Air Canada’s operations have also been disrupted by the complex and inevitable in the industry,” Rousseau said. .
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It comes as airlines in Europe and the US are also canceling hundreds of flights just as people are itching to travel again after COVID-19 lockdowns prevented them from going on vacation.
The teens kept in touch with their families, who kept the uncertain situation in perspective.
The children are happy to be on an adventure together and the parents trust the group’s organizers, said Mathieu Robitaille and Rachel Corbeil, whose 16-year-old daughter Noemie is on the trip.
However, they were furious at Air Canada’s initial indifference and are still concerned that the group will arrive in Whitehorse only to have their return flights cancelled.
“They said everything was booked, so they couldn’t arrange anything other than getting permission to sleep at the airport,” Robitaille said. “How’s that for premium customer service!? What the hell can you do with $10 for food in an airport?
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On Sunday afternoon, St-Pierre said they couldn’t rent vans and that Air Canada was offering to put the group up at a Vancouver hotel for the next few days. They will be sightseeing and will return to YVR on Wednesday night. There was also talk of the possibility of a flight on Monday.
The group is scheduled to fly back to Quebec City from Whitehorse on Sunday, July 10.
“If our flight doesn’t work out, we’re going to ask for a refund and go back to Quebec or ask to sleep in a hotel for the last few days of our trip,” he added.
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