A dream New York tour turns into a Montreal airport nightmare for N.L. teens

Air Canada is apologizing for a situation that saw nearly three dozen teenagers from Conception Bay North, along with their five adult chaperones, stranded for three days in Montreal, dashing their hopes of visiting New York City.

The travel company that arranged the tour, meanwhile, is not commenting.

But despite the unpleasant experience, the students remain determined to one day visit the city that's famous for its arts scene and iconic landmarks.

In a statement to CBC News, an unnamed Air Canada spokesperson blamed unfavourable weather conditions and a shortage of air crew for what the airline described as a regrettable situation.

And since most flights are booked because of the busy summer travel season, the airline said its ability to rebook customers following a flight cancellation is limited, especially for large groups.

"As a result, we were unable to transport these customers as planned and we have apologized for not providing our normal levels of customer service," the statement reads.

Stress and confusion

The 34 students — all 14 and 15 years old — from Amalgamated Academy in Bay Roberts and Holy Redeemer in Spaniard's Bay departed St. John's airport on an Air Canada flight on Saturday. They were accompanied by five teacher chaperones from their schools.

The educational tour was organized by a company called Brightspark by WorldStrides. The trip was a year in the making and came with a price tag of nearly $4,000 per student.

The four-day itinerary included everything from a Broadway musical and shopping to visits to landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center.

The plan was to fly to Montreal and connect with another flight to New York.

But a dream end-of-school-year adventure turned into three days and two nights of stress, confusion and discomfort, said Emma Gifford of Port de Grave, one of the students on the trip.

"It was very challenging because we were all there without our parents. For a lot of us it was our first time travelling without our parents," she said.

A cascade of problems

After landing in Montreal, the tour group was forced to wait on the plane for two hours before learning their connecting flight to New York was cancelled.

That began a series of problems that included long waits at the airport terminal, late-night and early morning taxi rides to and from a nearby hotel, eating food from vending machines and growing increasingly fatigued and frustrated as delays piled on top of each other.

It was a challenging introduction to air travel for students like Kairah March of Bareneed.

"It was kind of disappointing that the first time leaving Newfoundland, I spent most of the time in an airport. On an airport floor. It was pretty bad," said March.

On Sunday, word came down that the trip to New York was cancelled. It was a heartbreaking outcome for students who used the trip as motivation as they prepared for and wrote their year-end exams.

'We just wanted to go home'

But that wasn't the end of their travel turmoil. The students had to endure several more delays and hours of uncertainty before they finally arrived back at St. John's International Airport on Monday night.

"I felt helpless, and I know a lot of us did as well. It was fearful. We just wanted to go home," said student Sarah Holmes.

While the students sweated it out in the humidity and smoke-filled air of Montreal, where wildfires in northern Quebec had dramatically lowered the air quality, parents back home in Newfoundland were scrambling for answers.

"Brightspark was saying, 'You need to call Air Canada.' And when we reach out to Air Canada, Air Canada said, 'You need to talk to Brightspark.' So we had both companies putting the liabilities over to somebody else," said Stephanie Gifford, Emma's mother.

"From Saturday when she left, right up until Monday night, I didn't know how she was getting home, didn't know where she was sleeping in the evenings, didn't know how she was eating."

Some parents were preparing to board a plane and fly to Montreal, she said.

"[Emma] was very upset. She had nosebleeds. She was feeling sick. I know it's embarrassing for her now, but she just wanted her mom. She wanted her family. She just wanted to be home and not on a floor in an airport," said Gifford.

Brightspark says Air Canada 'not much help'

A message to parents from Brightspark, which was obtained by CBC News, cited "unforeseen circumstances" for the travel turbulence. But the company also singled out Air Canada for criticism, saying the airline "was not much help in making alternate arrangements for the group."

The message said "Brightspark did the best we could on short notice, hampered by [a] provincial holiday [Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day] on the weekend, to first and foremost ensure the safety of the students."

Air Canada and Brightspark covered the cost of hotel accommodations, while Air Canada also provided daily food vouchers to the group. Brightspark also chartered a bus Monday to transport the group from the hotel to a morning meal, to a shopping mall, and then to the airport.

The breakfast was the first warm meal the students had eaten since Saturday morning, said Stephanie Gifford.

The students credit their chaperones for helping make the situation bearable, and note that the adversity helped solidify old and new friendships.

"I'm a lot closer to each and every one of them, because we spent a lot of time together," said Ally Bennett of North River.

Many of the students are involved in the drama program at their schools, which is largely why they were so drawn to Broadway's famous theatres. 

Meanwhile, the travellers were insured, but it's not yet clear how much of their expenses will be refunded.

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