Sunwing: Ottawa-area man’s wheelchair lost for four days after flight home

An Ottawa-area man wants answers from Sunwing Airlines after his wheelchair went missing for four days after flying home.

Cory Beausoleil says his wheelchair never showed up at Ottawa International Airport after his family’s direct flight home from Cancun on Saturday.

After waiting more than an hour for her arrival, Beausoleil’s mother asked an airport employee that they were still looking for the wheelchair and was told the wheelchair was nowhere in the airport.

“We waited with everyone else to get our bags and they basically told me my wheelchair didn’t make it on the plane,” Beausoleil said.

Four days later, on Tuesday, an Ottawa Airport employee called to say the wheelchair had arrived and was being shipped to his home.

“I was without a chair for four days, unable to shop for groceries or go outside with my dog, regularly engage in normal activities,” he said.

Beausoleil lives with cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair. He has traveled a lot in his wheelchair and has never had any problems until now.

He says he has not received any details or communications from Sunwing in recent days. The family filed multiple lost baggage reports and left multiple voicemails.

“At least give us an update on what’s going on, who’s helping,” he said. “It was all radio silence; for me, communication was zero.”

Beausoleil has had to use a walker since coming home, but his mobility is limited and it is difficult to get around. The family took to social media and posted about the lost wheelchair. The post has been shared more than 900 times.

Beausoleil says Ottawa Airport was extremely helpful in lending him an airport wheelchair so he could return home, and it was the airport that called him to say his wheelchair was found – not Sunwing .

He said a chair like his costs more than $2,000.

“I wasn’t able to do the activities that I would normally do,” he says. “I have to keep my life on track, so I probably would have just bought a new chair.”

Relieved that the wheelchair is back, Beausoleil says he wants to share his experience in hopes of holding the airline accountable and making sure it doesn’t happen to anyone again.

“It was about pressure. Some people are stuck with a wheelchair as their only mode of transportation. For me I can use my walker or crutches but for some people it is their only mode of transportation and even 24 hours would be a lot, so four days is not acceptable. I’m glad it’s resolved, but it took too long.”

In a statement to CTV News, Sunwing said: “We can confirm that the family filed a missing wheelchair baggage claim on Sunday, January 29 following their northbound journey from Cancun to Ottawa. We are pleased to confirm the customer’s wheelchair has since been located by our airline staff and will be delivered to family today. We apologize to the family for the inconvenience and look forward to reuniting them with their wheelchair and hope they choose to travel with us again in the future.”