A woman from Scarborough said she was vying for compensation after a suitcase containing her wedding dress went missing on a flight last year.
In November 2018, Saana Salih was set to get married in Dubai. She had packed up her clothing and gifts for the wedding into a suitcase and then took a direct flight from Toronto with her fiancé.
But when the couple arrived at their destination, their suitcase was nowhere to be found. The ceremony went ahead as planned, but Salih said she had to walk down the aisle wearing something other than a wedding dress.
“I went shopping in Dubai, looking for something to wear for the wedding, but I never ended up buying a wedding dress in the end because everything was super expensive,” Salih said.
Salih said she contacted the airline and was told to put in a claim for the lost bag and missing items. She said she filled out the paperwork, mailed it in, and was informed that someone would reach out to her in about 35 business days.
The lost suitcase was never found and after a few months, Salih said a baggage representative told her the claim was denied and that she should have filled out the form online.
The representative said that her bag had not been found and that the airline would not be providing her with any compensation for her lost items.
Salih said that no one told her she needed to fill out the forms online at the time.
“Sadly, they said ‘you didn’t do an online one, so forget about it. Move on,” she said.
After CTV News Toronto contacted Air Canada, the company took another look at her claim.
“It appears there was a miscommunication with respect to the filing of the claim. We have apologized and will arrange reimbursement of $2,056.50,” said Peter Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson for Air Canada.
A recent airline study found that 85 per cent of lost luggage is found and delivered within two days, but some suitcases are never recovered.
With files from CTV News Toronto's Pat Foran
