Air Canada leaves Calgary students hanging in the wind

Air Canada travelers wait at the check-in area as baggage handlers at Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport walked off the job, causing cancellations and delay, in Montreal March 23, 2012. (OLIVIER JEAN/REUTERS)

Report an error

Calgary high school students received an abrupt lesson on labour dispute Friday after Air Canada wildcat strikes grounded their flight to France.

A cancelled flight to Paris left 45 students and six teachers from Lord Beaverbrook high school waiting in Calgary International Airport for an alternate plane.

Student Ben McTaggart had some choice words for the striking baggage handlers who?d thrown a monkey wrench into an eight-day trip to France and the U.K. that?d been planned for the past year.

?They don?t care whatsoever about people who want to live their lives and have fun,? said McTaggart, 17.

?It gets under our skins.?

But as staff, students and their parents awaited word about a chaotic labour melee in other cities, Madison Baron, 17, said the dispute was much bigger than them.

?Obviously, it?s important to the workers ? obviously, it?s affecting everyone and they?re trying to get their message across,? she said.

?We?ll get there somehow and when we get there, it?ll be fine.?

Dan Houg, the father of one of the students, said he was frustrated to see the group?s flight was one of only two Air Canada sorties cancelled when they showed up Friday morning.

?They?ve been looking forward to it for a long time,? he said.

But he added even if they didn?t get airborne Friday, the scenario could be far worse.

?What if this happens when they?re trying to come back? Here, the worst that can happen is they go home,? he said.

Even though the group has flight insurance, Houg said if the trip is grounded, it?d be almost impossible to make up.

?They only have 10 days for spring break, so it?s got to be now,? he said.

After nearly five hours at the airport, student Brett Krauss said frustration was building with his teachers ?trying to go out of the box to arrange something.?

They were still waiting for a flight at 6 p.m. Friday.

The group didn?t do fundraising, with students? families financing the trip individually.

bill.kaufmann@sunmedia.ca

twitter@SUNbillkaufmann

Source: http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/03/23/air-canada-leaves-calgary-students-hanging-in-the-wind

cadillac ats bain capital marines urinating haley barbour olivier martinez peoples choice awards 2012 ford recalls