Ali, along with 200 of his friends and family members, have flown from various parts of the world to Trinidad for the special day. “I wanted it to be absolutely perfect,” Ali, who flew to his wedding destination on July 3 via Air Canada, told Global News Thursday.
Read more: ‘Brace your patience’: Experts say travel woes expected to continue for air passengers
But despite his meticulous planning, what didn’t make it to his wedding destination with Ali was his luggage — carrying his wedding dress. “Everything is bought, everything is ready. All I had to do was show up in my outfit,” she said. “But it’s all in my luggage and my luggage never arrived.” Story continues below ad “It’s just scary what’s happening. It will destroy everything we had planned,” Ali said. Ali has been calling Air Canada every day since arriving in Trinidad, often for several days – to try to figure out where his luggage is – hoping it will arrive in time for his July 15 wedding. “It’s an absolute nightmare.” “You’ll be on the phone for three hours with no answer. Nobody lifts,” Ali said. 2:02 Airline woes cause frustration for sea travelers Airline woes cause frustration for sea travelers He filled out a form after getting off the plane in Trinidad – standard protocol when luggage is lost – and even traveled back to the airport to double-check that his luggage had been found a few days after arriving, with no luck. Story continues below ad He also checked the status of his luggage online. He says his custom wedding suit case is still in Canada. “I spent thousands of dollars to be able to get here, plus quite a bit of money for a suit that’s really custom-made — all cufflinks and buttons. Everything is perfect for the perfect day,” Ali said. “And, he’s not here. And no, we don’t know what we’re going to do,” he said. Trending Stories
Trophy hunter shot dead by roadside in South Africa Convoy organizers discussed playing ‘race card’ with Lich’s Métis heritage
Also in the luggage, in addition to his reception suit, was his outfit selected to be worn at the Islamic ceremony scheduled to take place in Trinidad before July 15. “Both are completely missing in action.” Ali said. “No one is taking responsibility. They haven’t called us, they haven’t sent us an email.”
Read more: As airfares rise, see how Canadians can find cheaper flights
Another traveler, Marco Rocha, has been planning to travel to Portugal with his wife and daughter since last November. The Air Canada flight was booked for mid-July 2022. However, Rocha recently received a “fishy” email from the airline saying his flight was delayed 15 minutes due to bad weather – his flight wasn’t due for another two weeks. Story continues below ad “I find it strange, very strange, that they would know two weeks in advance that bad weather would cause a 15-minute delay,” Rocha told Global News from Montreal. With airport horror stories circulating and now a delayed flight, Rocha is hoping his flight won’t be canceled altogether. “I’m worried about that,” he said. “My first instinct is that they are trying to cover themselves if more flights are cancelled. I’m worried that my flight, all my holidays, will be canceled because of things out of my control.” 2:39 Canadian airlines and airports top global delay list Canadian airlines and airports top global delay list “Aviation is a complex ecosystem made up of many independent players such as airports, customs, catering companies, fueling companies, security systems and so on,” an Air Canada spokesperson told Global News in response to the ongoing delays. “All these instruments must work well and together for the system to function properly. The on-time performance of individual carriers can be affected by the performance of any of these partners, which is why we are working with all of our partners to improve industry performance,” they said. Story continues below ad WestJet, which is also facing massive delays and cancellations, says: “There remain significant operational challenges specific to and across the Canadian aviation ecosystem that are beyond our control, contributing to significant delays.” “We recognize from time to time. collectively we are still not delivering the experience our guests expect and for that we apologize. As a result, our number one priority is to ensure our guests arrive safely at their destination as timely as the current aviation landscape allows,” a spokesperson told Global News. Canadian airlines have failed to meet their business goals, according to air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs. “Canadians should be very concerned,” he told Global News. “The question Canadians have to ask is why is the government allowing the airlines to behave this way,” he said. On Tuesday, Air Canada and Toronto’s Pearson Airport again claimed the top spots for flight delays. Air Canada saw 65 percent of its flights arrive late, according to tracking service FlightAware. Under air passenger protection regulations, when an airline cancels a flight or delays a flight for reasons within its control, it must pay passengers a lump sum, according to Lukacs. Although both Air Canada and WestJet say they meet the requirements, Lukacs says these provisions are currently being ignored by the airlines and remain unenforced by the government. Story continues below ad The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has issued 77 Warning Notices and 15 Violation Notices totaling $97,450 in administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) related to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations since they came into force in 2019. © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
