Sault couple told to wait three days for connecting flight home

Like so many other Canadians travelling by air these days, the Sault’s Shirley Mantyla has a story to tell.

On her way to a vacation in Finland with her husband, their Air Canada flight from Toronto to Frankfurt - a stop on the way to Helsinki - was delayed by about 45 minutes.

“We literally ran in Germany to go through security with our Canadian passports, running from one terminal to the next and we were the last ones to board the flight from Frankfurt to Helsinki,” Mantyla told SooToday.

It was when the Mantylas were ready to make the last leg of their journey home to Sault Ste. Marie that worse difficulties arose.

They left Helsinki Tuesday June 28 and flew to Frankfurt first by Lufthansa, then on to Pearson International Airport in Toronto via Air Canada.

“We landed and we rushed over to the other side of the terminal and realized Air Canada had cancelled our flight to Sault Ste. Marie. There was a lineup for every Air Canada cancellation, hundreds of people in line. We got to a customer rep and were told there were no flights to Sault Ste. Marie until Friday, July 1st. So basically we’re stuck in Toronto until July 1st,” Mantyla said.

The ordeal at Pearson lasted three hours, she estimated.

Mantyla and her husband were given hotel vouchers and food vouchers by Air Canada for accommodation and meals while in Toronto.

The couple were among the fortunate ones compared to the suffering of others, Mantyla said.

“We’re fortunate we don’t have to rush to work and don’t have kids at home. We saw mothers breastfeeding and older people in wheelchairs. It was more taxing on them.”   

“We went to see if we could get our luggage and we stood in another line and the Air Canada rep said our luggage is in some back room waiting for the July 1st flight, and if we cancelled our flight, our bags would be taken out of that room and left on the floor somewhere in Toronto.”

Mantyla and her husband haven’t cancelled their flight home to the Sault with Air Canada but instead of waiting until Friday to return, have booked a flight at extra expense to themselves with Porter Airlines - flying from Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport - to fly into the Sault Wednesday evening.

The flight back to the Sault is essential for family reasons, Mantyla said.

She hopes their bar-coded luggage will be sent by Air Canada from Pearson to the Sault on a separate plane Friday.

Airlines have been blamed for overbooking flights - an aggressive move to make up for loss of revenue during the pandemic - with not enough staff or backup planes to handle passenger numbers, leading to long lineups, last minute cancellation of flights and frustration and hardship for passengers. 

Airlines, in turn, have blamed the federal government for a shortage of federal security and customs officers at airports.

The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority hired more than 900 screeners since April.

Many of those screeners are still in training.

“I think Air Canada is to blame. I actually wrote an email to Sault MP Terry Sheehan’s office and they called me this morning. The email I sent to their office said I didn’t want Air Canada to have any more subsidies until they fix customer service,” Mantyla said.

“Air Canada should’ve foreseen all the pent-up travel and I feel the CEO of Air Canada and all the executives and the board members should be at Pearson dealing with this luggage. When we were walking through, there were baby strollers, baby car seats, guitars, bicycles, sports equipment all laying there. Some people are sleeping at Pearson.”

“It’s frustrating. They need to redirect their work force from their offices to deal with these backlogs of luggage and concentrate on getting that baggage out to the right owners and the right location.”

It’s been a trip home Mantyla and her husband won't soon forget.

Mantyla’s time spent in Finland - June 1 to June 28 - was more pleasant, a mix of business and pleasure.

Apart from visiting family members and friends and enjoying trips to national parks, Mantyla - who is the Honorary Consul of Finland in Sault Ste. Marie - met with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs officials to discuss needed trade with North America as Russia’s war on Ukraine has complicated Finnish trade with its neighbour to the east.

There were some light hearted moments as well.  

“They reminded us we lost at hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics,” Mantyla said with a chuckle.

“That came up at every conversation. Even the president mentioned it with glee.” 

As for future travel plans, Mantyla said she and her husband are planning a trip to Arizona but will fly from Michigan.