Women, 92 and 94, turned away from flights over ID
CBC News
Posted: Aug 16, 2012 6:50 AM PT
Last Updated: Aug 16, 2012 7:00 AM PT
Some people are calling for looser flying regulations for seniors after two women in their 90s were stopped from boarding their flights.
CBC first reported that an elderly woman was denied access to her Air Canada flight from Calgary to Vancouver on Wednesday night because she had forgotten her ID at home.
However, 92-year-old Joyce Taylor had flown with the airline from Vancouver to Calgary earlier in the week. The woman only had her Visa credit card as ID.
When the woman attempted to check at the Calgary airport, she was told the card did not constitute valid photo identification.
"That young woman said you can't get on, but I thought we'd waited so long why couldn't we get on? Well, I banged my cane on her counter," said Taylor.
Taylor managed to make it back to Vancouver after her family sent photocopies of the required documents.
"They did [allow me on the earlier flight], so it didn't worry me,” she told CBC News after arriving back in Vancouver.
“But coming back, we missed how many planes? Everybody was waiting for us. It was very awful. And, we should have been here a few hours ago."
2nd incident
When Yueh Yang Clen’s family heard about Taylor’s story, they contacted the CBC.
Clen, 94, is in a similar situation. She had driven to Calgary with her relatives and was supposed to fly home to Vancouver on Thursday morning.
But Clen also wasn’t allowed to board her flight because she also didn't have proper ID.
She had some cards, and a photograph of her passport, but Air Canada said that was not enough.
"At this age, she's not a security threat as far as I'm concerned,” said her daughter Judy Chow.
“But we have to convince Transport Canada if they can make concessions for people like this who do travel in the future.”
Clen remains in Calgary, as she waits for family in Vancouver to mail her passport to Calgary.
There's some pressure to get on a flight within the next 24 hours to avoid fees, but that’s unlikely to happen.
Air Canada spokesperson Angela Mah said no one should be allowed on a flight without proper ID, and said Taylor shouldn’t have been able to board her first flight with the airline.
Mah said the airline will be emphasizing the importance of these procedures with its employees.
For its part, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority said the rules are pretty simple — you need a valid photo ID to get on your flight and it's up to the airline to check it.
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