Ontario woman says Air Canada allowed her child to fly internationally unsupervised
An Ontario woman says Air Canada allowed her 11-year-old son to board an international flight without supervision and fly home from Mexico City alone.
Toronto woman Monica Perez says her son, Sebastian, flew to Mexico City in June to visit his aunt for summer holidays.
"My son went on vacation, going and returning on his own," Perez told CTV News Toronto on Sunday. "I paid $200 to have a guardian with him."
According to Air Canada's website, it is mandatory for children between the ages of eight and 11, who are travelling alone, to fly with the airline’s unaccompanied minor service.
An Air Canada agent will escort the child to the gate and assist with boarding. The child is usually seated in the last three rows, so they are close to the cabin crew.
Sebastian was originally scheduled to fly home on Aug. 20, but Perez said she used Air Canada’s free change option to move his flight to September 17.
She says she was then contacted by Air Canada and told Sebastian's flight had been moved up to Sept. 14 due to a schedule change at the airline.
On Sept. 14, Perez said Sebastian's aunt drove him to the airport in Mexico City to fly back to Toronto.
"My sister checked him in and she was told by Air Canada they don’t have a guardian for him," Perez said. "They said I didn’t pay the fee, but of course I paid the fee. I have the receipt."
Perez, who was in Toronto, said she was told over the phone by the agent in Mexico City to call the Air Canada support line.
"I was on hold forever," Perez said.
While waiting on the support line, Perez said the agent at the check-in counter told her sister that if Sebastian didn’t board the flight he would forfeit his ticket.
They said they were also told it could be days before there was room on the next available flight.
"My sister felt she didn’t have any choice but to let him go on his own," Perez said.
Perez said another family, who was also flying back to Toronto on the same flight, agreed to step in and help Sebastian get through security and to his gate.
"It's the middle of the night and he’s at the busiest airport in Mexico," Perez said.
'HE WAS FEELING LOST'
Perez said her son got on the plane and was seated in the middle of the nearly 300-seat plane, not near the cabin crew.
She said he also could no longer see the family who helped him board the plane.
"He was feeling lost," she said. "I didn't sleep all night thinking about it."
Air Canada's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner was on display for media from Sunday, May 18 to Tuesday, May 20, 2014. (Tom Podolec / CTV Toronto)
Perez said by the time she connected with Air Canada's support line, Sebastian was already on the plane.
She said she was told by Air Canada that when the schedule change occurred on Sebastian’s booking "they forgot to attach the unaccompanied minor fee to the new flight."
When the flight landed in Toronto, Perez said Sebastian get off the plane and made his way to customs.
"He did customs on his own," she said. "They asked him lots of questions. They asked him how much money he has. He said he told them a couple of thousands dollars because he was thinking about his Xbox, clothes, iPad, and toys."
Perez, who went to Toronto Pearson to pick up her son, said he was brought out to the arrivals area by an Air Canada agent.
Perez said she believes the customs agent must have notified Air Canada about Sebastian being alone.
"The lady came and the first thing she said is 'I'm not supposed to be with him because you didn't pay,'" she said. "I lost it."
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, a spokesperson for Air Canada said they are concerned to hear about the situation.
"Air Canada is continuing to review what happened as this passenger should have travelled under unaccompanied minor service," the spokesperson said.
"Our customer relations team will be in direct contact with the family in the coming days."
But Perez says she has been in contact with Air Canada’s customer relations team multiple times since the incident occurred.
E-mails to Perez, viewed by CTV News Toronto, show Air Canada offered her a $200 voucher for future travel.
Grounded Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
"Respectfully, we consider this matter closed," the e-mail from Air Canada on Sept. 17 says. "Continuing to exchange emails will not change our position on providing a full refund."
Perez said she doesn't feel Air Canada is taking the situation seriously.
"Air Canada doesn't understand my frustration," she said. "To them it was a tiny little mistake but it was big to us."
"I don't want any credit, just a refund. I don't want to fly with Air Canada anymore. I don't care if I have to take three connecting flight with another airline. I just want my money back."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women in Winnipeg, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.