Joe Lippai family members, a Saskatchewan team basketball player, find themselves trapped in Newfoundland and Labrador because of Air Canada’s flight cancellations. The latter had made the trip to encourage the athlete at the Canada Summer Games. They must now pay additional costs because they had to extend their stay at the hotel.
Cancellations of flights took place everywhere in Canada after the Air Canada on-board agents sparked a work stoppage on Saturday and were then put in lockout. Experts believe that the strike has forced Air Canada to cancel more than 2,000 flights.
On Tuesday, an agreement in principle was concluded between Air Canada and the union which represents 10,000 on -board agents.
Joe Lippai, on the right, plays basketball for the Saskatchewan team. We see it here on the field at Canada’s summer games.
Photo: Carla Lippai
The disruptions in the airline service directly affect the Lippai family, which went on August 8 to Saint-Jean, in Newfoundland and Labrador, to encourage Joe Lippai.
The sister and parents of the 17 -year -old athlete had planned to return to Regina in an Air Canada flight on Sunday morning.
We were in their last match. The siren sounded and when I got up, my phone vibrated, informing us that our flight had been canceled
Raconte Bill Lippai.
The family was then informed by an Air Canada employee that she could go home on Thursday.
Carla Lippai explains that they had initially reserved their hotel for a period of nine days. According to her, this had to cost them between $ 4,200 and $ 4,900, depending on the fluctuation in daily prices.
However, if their flight postponed on Thursday as expected, their accommodation bill will amount to $ 6000, she says.
Athletes back in Saskatchewan, but not their families
While his family is blocked in Newfoundland and Labrador, Joe Lippai and his teammates are already back in Saskatchewan.
The basketball team has taken a nolized plane from the company Canadian North to Saskatoon on Sunday morning.
The athletes of the Saskatchewan team are from Prince Albert, North Battleford, Martensville, Regina, Yorkton and Moose Jaw, and Saskatoon.
Joe Lippai is therefore alone in Saskatchewan, while his family tries to find a way to come back.
Carla Lippai indicates that many families are in the same situation as them.
Jillian Lippai, 11, is nervous due to the deadlines caused by the cancellation of flight. She had to start football on Thursday, but she will not be able to return home. She will also miss a taekwondo lesson.
Jillian Lippai, 11, seated in his hotel room while waiting for her parents to find a way to postpone their flight from Air Canada.
Photo: Carla Lippai
The girl is also impatient to start preparations for the new school year and says that her dogs are missing enormously
.
I am a little worried, compared to Air Canada, that they continue to cancel our flights and that it takes so long to go home
she says.
Air Canada performs approximately 700 flights per day. The airline had estimated on Monday that 500,000 customers would be affected by flight cancellations.
In a declaration, Michael Rousseau, the president and chief executive officer of Air Canada, asked the company’s customers to be patient, because the full recovery of the service could take a week or more
.
With information from Laura Sciarpelletti
