Air Canada flight delays funeral

A Newfoundland man is demanding an apology from Air Canada after he had to postpone a funeral because a flight took off without his Edmonton brother’s body on board.
Greg Hamilton says his family was waiting at the airport in Deer Lake, N.L., where his brother’s casket was expected to arrive Thursday morning from Edmonton, in time for the Friday funeral.
The casket showed up at the airport 12 hours late after it was left in Montreal, said Hamilton, whose brother Dennis, a 51-year-old Edmontonian, died of a heart attack at a work camp near Fort McMurray on March 30.
After the delay, the casket was later picked up by the local undertaker and Hamilton says the mistake forced his family to postpone his brother’s funeral services to Saturday.
“I am hoping to hear some sort of compassion or apology from Air Canada, but they have yet to speak with me,” said Hamilton during a telephone interview with Metro.
“We wanted to get him home so we can see him and put him to rest. We weren’t even notified that there was going to be a delay.
“Hopefully we’ll get some sort of explanation.”
The airline could not be reached for comment on the family’s demand for an apology, but spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick told reporters earlier that agents in Edmonton were extra accommodating because they wanted to help the family, despite the lack of time between connecting flights.
Staff wanted to get the casket through Montreal in less than their normal protection time, says Fitzpatrick, but that plan backfired when the flight was delayed.
The casket was not bumped to make room for luggage, the airline said.
“I hope they can be a little considerate and I hope this doesn’t happen to another family,” said Hamilton.
-jeff.cummings@metronews.ca