A misinformed Air Transat employee ruins their vacation

A Quebec family has been forced to cancel their vacation in Switzerland after one of their family members was denied boarding by airline staff who got their directions wrong. sanitary measures.

“In a few minutes, we had our three-week trip to Geneva destroyed, and since then we have had no news from Air Transat,” laments Jean-Pierre Charlebois, who was to leave with his children Antoine, 20. , and twins Ève-Marie and Tristan, 17.

The family, originally from Quebec, had planned to go to Switzerland. She had to exchange her house with that of a Swiss family.

“We lend our car and our house here, and they lend us their car and their house there,” explains Mr. Charlebois. , who cannot return to his house now occupied by the Swiss family.

The dream vacation quickly turned into a nightmare at the Montreal airport.

While the father and his two sons have received their three doses of vaccine, the young Ève-Marie has none. only two. The latter had COVID-19 at the end of March 2022, but without an official screening test, it is impossible to have proof in the Quebec vaccine passport.

“As we were checking in our luggage, one of the employees told my daughter that she could not board because she was missing a dose. But that's not true,” argues Mr. Charlebois, who was to make a stopover in France.

Indeed, children aged 12 to 17 “are not concerned by the obligation of the booster dose and do not have to present tests” if they have had their first two doses, can we read on the French government site.

Nothing to do

Despite attempts at explanation, Mr. Charlebois claims to have been faced with a wall from the employees.

“The only solution we were offered was to buy tickets, but I wouldn't take the chance of paying another $6,000 not to travel,” he exasperated.

< p>For its part, Air Transat told the Journal yesterday that it was indeed “an error on [their] part”.

“We [the ] will contact to offer them a new reservation or to compensate them in full, as well as to apologize for this bad experience”, indicated Bernard Côté, spokesperson for the airline.

The family Charlebois was able to spend a few days in Gaspésie to enjoy the holidays.

“Fortunately, family took us in for a few days. But there, we have to find another place to end the vacation,” laments Mr. Charlebois.

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