Family stranded at London, Ont. airport spend thousands to get home
By the time they got to Toronto Sunday night, Krystle Linic and her grandmother could smile, but to get to that point had been an ordeal.
Linic, her parents, and grandmother had booked a roundtrip flight from Edmonton to London so they could be at Linic's great-aunt's funeral over the weekend. Getting out of Edmonton was no issue, but flying back home became a frustrating, expensive process.
"We couldn't talk to anybody," says Linic. "There was nobody to talk to, nobody to call."
The family had checked in for their Swoop flight Saturday night, only to learn in the morning it had been cancelled, Linic explains.
Swoop, and its parent airline, WestJet, had experienced what it called a "severe disruption" to its service because of a system-wide outage. Hundreds of flights across the country were cancelled as a result.
Krystle and her family at her great aunt's funeral near London, Ont. on Nov. 5, 2022. (Source: Krystle Linic)
Linic and her family were rebooked on a flight for Tuesday morning, which was not a reasonable option for her.
"My mom and I are both teachers, and I didn't have any more days off," says Linic. "So it would be at my expense for the substitute teacher, plus loss of wages."
"It was going to be in the thousands of dollars for me to stay [in London] for two days," explains Linic, so they rented a car and drove to Toronto and caught an Air Canada flight.
It was an expensive decision that cost about $3,800, but she says it was cheaper than waiting in London.
Swoop Airlines Boeing 737 on display during their media event, Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at John C. Munro International Airport in Hamilton, Ont. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tara Walton
"[Swoop] responded via Facebook Messenger," says Linic. "I responded with what my issue was and they said, 'Well we gave you a flight home, so tough luck.'"
Since that rebooking offer, Linic says her messages have gone unanswered.
WestJet issued a statement Monday saying it is trying to help customers as quickly as possible, and accommodation information would be shared through email.
A request for comment from CTV News London to WestJet Wednesday was not returned.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Pack the macaroni necklace: Lessons on evacuations from a woman who fled one of Canada's worst wildfires
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Scheffler detained by police at PGA Championship for not following orders after traffic fatality
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was detained by police Friday morning on his way to the PGA Championship, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was led to a police car. ESPN reported he failed to follow police orders during a pedestrian fatality investigation.
Ontario sees first measles death in more than a decade after young child dies
A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
'Ugly produce': One way Canadians are shrinking rising grocery bills
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
Vatican revamps norms to evaluate visions of Mary as it adapts to Internet age and combats hoaxers
The Vatican on Friday radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, insisting on having the final say in whether the events are worthy of popular devotion.
Wildfires are dampening against cool, rainy weather, but there's plenty left to contain
An opportune system of cool, wet weather Friday is dampening the spread of wildfires across Western Canada, but there's still plenty of work for responders and residents alike.
Jessica Biel hopes to normalize the conversation around menstruation with a new children's book
Jessica Biel is the author of a new children’s book focused on destigmatizing and normalizing the conversation around menstruation.
5 secrets to moving better and preventing avoidable injury
Countless people seek emergency care for back pain, muscle strains and similar injuries resulting from “moving wrong” during mundane, everyday tasks such as bending over to tie shoes, lifting objects or doing household chores.