That’s what Laura, who didn’t want to give her last name, was told by her two young daughters after they were forced to spend the night on a family toilet floor at Pearson Airport because of a flight delay.
The Nova Scotia mother said she bought tickets to travel to South Korea, where her husband is from, earlier this year.
The plan was to visit family members in Seoul after the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted their plans to do so in 2020.
“We bought the tickets in February and never expected this to happen,” Laura told CTV News Toronto from Seoul.
Laura’s husband started the trip to meet up with his family in South Korea before his wife and two daughters arrived on July 2.
But when their first flight from Halifax was delayed due to what Laura said WestJet described as an unrelated “immigration issue” at London’s Gatwick Airport, her holiday plans began to fall apart and she missed her flight from Toronto to Seoul.
“When we got to Toronto, they [WestJet] he said “It’s not our fault you missed your flight.  Here’s your redirect,” Laura said.
When Laura asked about food and hotel vouchers from the WestJet rep in Pearson, she said they explained that she didn’t qualify and that because the initial delay was caused by an immigration issue, they were absolved of any responsibility.
Laura said, at that point, it became clear that she would have to make out-of-pocket arrangements to stay overnight to catch her rescheduled flight the next morning.
And with so many other travelers in the same boat, Laura said she tried but failed to find a hotel that wasn’t fully booked and within her price range.
She said she was left looking for a safe place to rest with her children overnight and had no choice but to sleep in a nurses’ room with a locking door.
“So we washed the floor with antiseptic wipes and spread blankets so that no germs would stick to the children.  After the [children] he fell asleep and was able to rest,” Laura said.
Laura described the experience as humbling, but said she and her young daughters “survived” the ordeal and eventually made it to their flight the next morning.
“It was the worst experience ever.”
Laura’s daughters are seen sleeping on the floor of a nursing home at Toronto’s Pearson Airport after a WestJet flight was delayed on July 2, 2022. (Supplied)
This is not the first time a family traveling through Pearson has been forced to sleep in less than ideal surroundings due to airport delays and logistical issues.
Last month, a mother and her three children were left to sleep on the floor due to Air Canada delays.
In Canada, passengers traveling by air are entitled to compensation for flight delays and cancellations under the Transport Canada Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR).
This food allowance is supposed to start if a flight is delayed for more than three hours for an issue that is within the control of the air carrier, but not related to security, air traffic or customs control.
If passengers have to wait overnight for their flight, airlines must offer hotel or other similar accommodation free of charge.
In an email to CTV News Toronto, WestJet apologized but said that because the flight was affected due to instructions from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the delay was deemed to be “outside” of their control.
“When uncontrollable events occur, guests are not entitled to compensation or vouchers,” a spokesperson confirmed.
But Air passenger rights president Gabor Lukacs said WestJet’s reasoning for denying Laura compensation over an immigration issue “rings hollow” and that their statement is “absurd.”
“It is not an excuse in itself.  This is a supposed “knock-on” effect.  The question for WestJet to explain is what it did to mitigate the delay — did it get another aircraft, crew, etc.”  Lukacs said.
“This also highlights the many gaps in Canada’s default APPR, which we have been warning the public and government about for years.  In the European Union, passengers would have received meal and hotel vouchers regardless of the reasons,” he added.
An infographic illustrating the differences between air passenger rights in the European Union and Canada is shown in this image.  (Air Passenger Rights)
Speaking from Seoul, Laura said she was happy to have reached her destination, but anxious for the return trip later this month.
“I’m very wary of going home because we have to go through Toronto’s Pearson airport again once we get home.  I dread it with every ounce of my being,” Laura said.
Meanwhile, Laura said she hopes WestJet will be “more considerate” of its customers in the future and reimburse her for the more than $300 she spent on food and blankets. 
With files by Brooklyn Neustaeter and Abby Neufeld