A family from Magog, in the Eastern Townships, is having great difficulty in obtaining the postponement of their trip to Barbados, which was scheduled to depart on December 30.
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Robert Butler and his two brothers decided last September to buy a trip for the whole family.
In all, 16 people were to put their feet in the sand.
But faced with recommendations from the federal government to avoid travel due to the surge in cases related to the Omicron variant, the family asked Air Canada Vacations to postpone their travel date.
A request that was refused to them by the company, even if the family had taken out cancellation insurance.
“You can’t give credit. If they [les clients] cancellent (sic), the general condition applies: within 30 days of departure, 100% non-refundable, total loss, ”Air Canada Vacations indicates in writing.
This refusal is explained by the fact that the level of risk established by the federal government for travel abroad is at level 3, which requires travel to be avoided, but without prohibiting it.
Mr. Butler laments that it is so complicated to postpone a trip when the Prime Minister himself asks Canadians to avoid travel abroad.
“We don’t want to spread this disease either. We’re really torn. We have the chance to make this trip, but also, I have always said, if we run after trouble, we increase our chances of finding it. Right now, I’m chasing after trouble, ”says the traveler.
In the afternoon on Friday, Robert Butler received a call from Air Canada offering him a reimbursement of 50% of the trip, which the family refused to accept.
If he does not get credit or reimbursement for his trip, which totals nearly $ 100,000 for the 16 members, Mr. Butler does not know whether he will take the risk of traveling overseas or not.
“I’ll tell you this on the morning of the 30th. Which ruins my parties, ”he says.
Cancellation insurance, on the other hand, cannot be used because COVID-19 was already a known illness at the time the trip was purchased.
– according to information from Mélissa Fauteux