Couple stranded in Portugal following Air Canada snafu

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. • A New foundland couple was stranded at an airport in Portugal after Air Canada suspended their tickets home.

Randell Earle described arriving at the Lisbon airport with his wife Claudia for their return flight to St. John’s in late March.

“When we arrived they said, ‘Sorry, Air Canada has suspended your ticket,’” he said. “They told us to go to the customer service desk, but then we were told we needed to call Air Canada directly.”

Frantically feeding euros into a pay phone, the 67-yearold retired lawyer said he “went round the mulberry bush three times” between Air Canada on the phone and airport agents until the couple missed their flight.

The seniors were forced to stay overnight in a hotel and book one-way flights home. The new flights to St. John’s cost the couple $6,090. They originally purchased two round-trip tickets for about $2,300, he said.

While Air Canada apologized to Earle for the “inconvenience,” it said the suspension of the tickets was “a necessary fraud-prevention technique to protect our passengers, credit card holders and Air Canada.”

Noting an increase in fraudulent activity due to the “ability to purchase products and/or services using credit cards over the telephone or the Internet,” the email said Air Canada has created a “fraud prevention team” that uses “tools” to monitor online bookings.

“When the results from these tools are inconclusive, the fraud prevention team will request that the airport agent confirms the details of the purchased ticket,” the email said, noting the airline “cannot guarantee that this will not happen again.”

Earle launched a lawsuit in small-claims court seeking compensation for his out-of-pocket costs, but he said Air Canada reimbursed those costs after the CBC called the airline for comment.