An Ontario woman whose father was left behind in a Cancun airport had to chase Flair Airlines for a promised refund after it initially sent her just a fraction of the flight cost.
Colombe Nadeau-O’Shea got married in Mexico last month and was thrilled her 67-year-old father, Colm Anthony O’Shea, could join them for the ceremony despite his cancer diagnosis and other health challenges.
Colombe Nadeau-O’Shea with her father at her wedding in Mexico (
Colombe Nadeau-O’Shea/Submitted)
But O’Shea’s flight home took off without him after he couldn’t pay Flair’s airport check-in fee because he didn’t have a credit card on him — just his debit card.
The senior was left in the Cancun airport for 32 hours until his daughter bought him a new flight the next day, with assurance from a Flair representative in Cancun that they’d be refunded the cost of the second flight.
The family shared their story with Daily Hive, saying O’Shea was “treated like literal garbage.”
Flair confirmed it does not accept payment via debit card and added that passengers risk losing their spot on the plane if they fail to check in online or pay the airport check-in fee.
But, as a one-time gesture of good faith, Flair told Daily Hive it would refund the family the cost of the second flight, which Nadeau-O’Shea purchased for just over $665.
Nadeau-O’Shea was confused when she saw a refund from Flair for just $271.
After doing some calculations, she realized that was half the value of the original flight she purchased for her father — the one that left him behind.
After Daily Hive reached out to Flair with questions, Nadeau-O’Shea received a second transfer for $394, the remainder of the cost for the second flight.
She’s glad to finally be made whole for the cost of the second flight but doesn’t understand why it took so many attempts or why Flair stopped responding to her messages.
“This is just a total disaster,” she said. “I have never experienced such horrible and confusing customer service in my entire life.”
Daily Hive reached out to Flair for comment.