Air Canada apologizes after barring passenger from flying to U.S. to see terminally ill husband

"Airline said 'unfortunate situation' was due to a misinterpretation of complex border rules during pandemic"

Sophia Harris · CBC News · Posted: Jun 17, 2020 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 7 hours ago


QUOTES:

"But when Musclow tried to check in for her May 24 flight from Kelowna to Cleveland, she said an Air Canada agent told her the U.S. border was closed to Canadians, and wouldn't let her board the plane.

"I was so upset because we had three months — my husband has three months [to live] and I wanted to go over there and be with him," said Musclow."

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"Musclow booked her flight with United Airlines, but Air Canada was the carrier for the first leg of the trip from Kelowna to Washington D.C. She said when she purchased her ticket by phone, a United agent assured her that she could fly to the U.S. as a Canadian citizen.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Canadian travellers can currently fly to the U.S. as long as they haven't visited Brazil, China, Iran, Ireland, the U.K. or 26 European countries in the Schengen Area 14 days prior.

But Musclow said the Air Canada agent at the Kelowna airport told her she needed written permission to travel to the U.S., and wouldn't issue her a boarding pass.

Musclow said she consulted a second Air Canada agent at the airport who told her that if the airline let her enter the U.S., the U.S. government would fine her $1,000."


Full article:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air...-cbp-1.5613826