A couple back from a cruise says they are out about $6,200 after their Air Canada flight from Pearson airport was cancelled, forcing them to pay for business class to make their July 2 Alaskan voyage from Seattle.
Yuriy Iordakiev said he and his wife Natasha had an experience that was a “horror” and “nerve-wracking” after their original flight was twice delayed, then cancelled.
The two said they had no choice with a cruise ship to catch — they rushed to buy the only seats available, in business class.
Air Canada would not pay for it.
“We were told that if we want to be on the flight AC 543 Toronto-Seattle we needed to buy tickets to business class,” said Iordakiev.
To make matters worse, the couple’s luggage never arrived in time for the cruise ship departure.
They bought new clothes and toiletries to the tune of $1,100 US in order to have something to wear on vacation.
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“We had a very bad experience with Air Canada and would never use their services ever again. We also expect them to reimburse our money,” said Iordakiev.
On Wednesday, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority unveiled a new app allowing travelers to check the status of delays and lineups at the airport in order to better plan their experience at Pearson.
Data shows problems continue.
About 36% of flights departing from Pearson were delayed, according to figures from international data tracker FlightAware as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.
It also showed about 44% of Air Canada flights delayed.
Ottawa announced Thursday the return of random COVID testing of arriving, vaccinated passengers starting July 19.
It will take place away from airports in order to reduce the risk of delays.
All unvaccinated travelers must be tested once they arrive — also away from the airport.
“As demand for travel increases across the world, today’s announcement marks an important step in our progress to streamline testing processes outside our airports while preventing the further spread of COVID-19,” said Transport Minister Omar Alghabra in a statement.
Airports have pushed for months to have restrictions eased or lifted in order to improve the flow at travel hubs.
Those hubs have been busy as people embrace more travel.
The number of domestic and international flights in Canada has ballooned since the start of the year.
Figures show 31,000 flights in the week ending Jan. 1, 2022, Statistics Canada revealed Thursday.
That increased to almost 65,000 flights during the week ending June 25.
As for the Iordakievs, their luggage finally arrived back at their home — four days after they returned from their “nightmare” trip.
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