Calgary wheelchair hockey players stuck in London, Ont., after WestJet strike say stresses are mounting

Members of a Calgary wheelchair hockey team stranded in London, Ont., as WestJet works to return flights to normal after the mechanics' strike say lack of communication from the airline has added stress and an estimated $10,000 bill to efforts to return home. 

"We need communication from WestJet; they've just dropped us like we're nothing," said Tracy Petruska, who is rebooking flights for the Calgary Selects. "This is absolutely horrific that they leave people in this position — it's unacceptable."

The 20 players, volunteers and team officials arrived in London on Thursday for a Canadian Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association (CEWHA) tournament at Fanshawe College, which has been providing accommodations for them to stay in the city.

With nine players in wheelchairs, they were supposed to be on flights Monday and Tuesday nights with the Calgary-based airline, but they were cancelled in the aftermath of the 48-hour mechanics' strike that began Friday.  

"We got the cancellation last night [Monday] at 10 p.m. and when we checked our reservation code, it just said it turned into a one-way trip instead of a round trip, so nothing back [to Calgary]," said Petruska's son Chase, the team's head coach.

Half of the group had their WestJet flight from London rescheduled for 8 p.m. on Wednesday and the remainder booked a flight with the airline out of Toronto for 9:50 a.m. ET. The costs include flights, a $2,000 accessible bus ride to transport players from London to Toronto, plus an overnight stay in the city, Petruska said.

"The flights are $1,200 per person. These players don't have $1,200 to book with another airline, so it's been very frustrating. There's been no update from WestJet, not a single email."

On Wednesday, a WestJet spokesperson told CBC London that its guest support team reached out to Petruska and provided her group with re-accommodation options, in which she opted to receive a refund for all of the impacted travellers in the group booking.

"Ms. Petruska's booking wasn't switched from a round-trip to one-way booking. As flight itineraries are priced per flight, when guests opt into receiving a refund, they are provided a refund for the unused portion of their itinerary," Madison Kruger wrote in an email. 

"Additionally, as a result of opting for a refund, Ms. Petruska's return flight was removed her group's itinerary. We are sincerely sorry to Ms. Petruska and the entire Canadian Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association for the inconvenience this has caused."

WestJet paused 72 per cent of its fleet after the surprise mechanics' strike, which resulted in a slew of cancelled flights affecting at least 100,000 passengers. The strike ended Sunday, but the airline warned Monday that disruptions will continue for several days.

As of noon on Tuesday, WestJet said 1,137 flights had been cancelled across Canada, including 75 on Tuesday and eight on Wednesday. 

The airline's website said people are entitled to request a refund to their original form of payment if re-accomodation with WestJet or an alternative airline isn't available within 48 hours of their scheduled departure. 

Petruska said she has received no information, despite being on hold with WestJet for several hours Monday night. Late Tuesday afternoon, she said, she booked Wednesday's flight from Toronto on her own. She fears the rescheduled flights will also be cancelled.

Medication, income disruptions

Ishan Manerikar, 23, said he's panicking because he only packed enough medication to last him through the Canada Day long weekend. The team's goaltender said he relies on treatment for his spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and not using it could quickly degenerate muscle mass. 

"It's quite stressful thinking of what the side-effects will be in the coming days. It's simple things like being able to feed myself. I live on my own but the margin of error for my physical well-being is quite thin, so just a little bit of loss can have major impacts."

Other volunteers assisting players on the trip have lost income from missing work, said Chase, adding one member broke his leg and needs to get to Calgary immediately to see an orthopedic surgeon. 

"It's been very stressful. Every individual has their own different reasons why they have to get home," Chase said. "I was supposed to submit my thesis on Wednesday and it's not looking like it. Other individuals have to get to weddings or to work."

Team members hope their Wednesday flights depart as scheduled, but said the airline needs to improve their communication and assistance for passengers affected by the strike.