Air Canada had no idea these passengers were on its flights and cancelled their tickets home

Siok Har Lim, a Montreal woman, found herself in a nightmare scenario during her trip to Europe last November. Despite her lack of travel experience and limited English skills, her multi-leg journey through Germany and Hungary was going smoothly until she arrived at the Budapest airport to fly home and learned that Air Canada had cancelled her return flight.

Lim was shocked and scared, not knowing what to do in a foreign country where she couldn’t communicate with anyone. With only one hour before her flight was set to depart, she was forced to purchase a new ticket home for a hefty sum of $2,550. This was a significant financial burden for Lim, who is a senior citizen on a limited income.

Upon returning to Montreal, Lim tried to seek compensation from Air Canada, but the airline directed her to Swiss Air, the operating airline for the flight from Budapest. Despite providing evidence such as boarding passes and photos of herself at landmarks in Berlin, Air Canada refused to reimburse her for the ticket.

Lim’s case is not an isolated incident. Several other passengers have also been incorrectly deemed “no-shows” by Air Canada, resulting in their return tickets being cancelled. Despite offering proof such as selfies taken on the planes they supposedly missed, the airline continued to deny their presence on earlier flights.

Dejan Ratkov, who had proof of his family’s presence on a flight from Banff, Alberta to Toronto, was forced to pay $2,000 for new tickets after Air Canada insisted they were not on the flight. Christopher Bailey of Vancouver even took the airline to small claims court and won $2,000 in damages for the stress caused by the ordeal.

Air Canada has acknowledged that these incidents were due to a “boarding error” caused by human error or technological malfunction. The airline has stated that such occurrences are rare and that they are working to enhance customer handling in case they happen again.

Despite these assurances, passengers like Siok Har Lim remain wary of taking another trip. The fear of being stranded in a foreign country due to an airline’s mistake lingers, leaving travelers feeling anxious and uncertain about the reliability of their flights. The airline industry must address these issues to ensure the safety and security of all passengers.