Air Transat 'deeply sorry' for denying Ukrainian couple flight to Canada, leading to deportation
CBC
Air Transat says it is "deeply sorry" after airline agents wrongfully denied a Ukrainian couple fleeing the Russian invasion a flight to Canada, leading to their deportation from Greece.
Oksana Korolova and Leonid Korolev are Ukrainian citizens with Canadian visas who were supposed to come to Canada on an Air Transat flight Monday from Athens to Toronto.
Volunteers with Ukraine Help Middlesex group, a grassroots group that helps sponsor and resettle Ukrainian refugees in London, Ont., was supposed to pick them up from Pearson International Airport and then reunite the couple with their son, Max Korolova, who is already in London.
However, his mother and father never left Athens on the Canadian airline. Instead, they were kicked off the flight by Air Transat agents who wouldn't let them board because Korolev holds a Russian passport and doesn't meet Canadian COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
"Air Transat made a mistake. If there was a different service agent who knew a little bit better the regulations, he would be allowed to fly," Sanja Dammeier, a volunteer with the Ukraine Help Middlesex group, told CBC News on Tuesday.
Dammeier is referring to a policy under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel (CUAET), which gives Ukrainian citizens with a valid Canadian visa through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) an exemption from Canadian COVID-19 vaccine requirements for international travellers.
"They're not tourists. They're not going on vacation. They are flying out of a war zone and then they treat them like this? It's horrible. It's absolutely horrible," Dammeier said.
"He has a Canadian visa to come to Canada. He's a Ukrainian citizen. He's allowed to come, but the airline personnel messed it up."
Rather than leave her husband behind, Korolova chose to stay with Korolev in Athens.
Max Korolova said he spoke Tuesday morning with his parents, who don't speak English and were denied to access to a translator by Greek authorities who intercepted them at the departure gate.
At that point, Max said, Greek police had them deported back to Istanbul, the city from which the couple had arrived.
"For them, its highly disappointing because they were under shelling and almost at the front line and they escaped from the war, and right now they were deported from Greece to Istanbul," Max said.
"They are in a hotel in Istanbul. They have some money for the hotel, but it's not a good hotel. It's an emergency hotel."
A New Brunswick tenant says he’s being pushed out of his rented bungalow as retribution for complaining about his landlord, but his landlord says she’s the victim of an unfair tenancy tribunal ruling that is preventing her from using the unit to house family.
Snow and freezing rain could affect morning commutes on Tuesday, according to a special weather statement issued by Environment Canada.
Daniel Jolivet, 68, had his first taste of freedom this weekend after spending the last 33 years behind bars.
Peguis First Nation is suing former chief Glenn Hudson over allegations he failed to act in the best interest of the band and financially benefitted from breaches of duty — including claims that he enriched himself, his family and supporters.
The Saskatchewan NDP's pace in 2025 has been frenetic.
If you’re ever walking down this east Hamilton neighbourhood during the holiday season, there’s a festive house that just might grab your attention.
It was just a few months ago that U.S. President Donald Trump told the world he doesn’t want Canadian cars.
Flu cases across Canada are on the rise and may push hospitals to their limits over the holidays and into the new year, leading health officials in regions across the country to warn people not to visit emergency rooms unless it's absolutely necessary.
More than 30 years after Canada's military allowed women to serve in combat roles, it's now specifically designing uniforms and body armour to fit their bodies.
The holiday season has arrived in Thunder Bay, and that means reduced hours, or closures, for businesses, city offices, and other amenities.
As Toronto’s food scene continues to grow, some in the industry say the pool of professional chefs hasn’t kept up with demand.
Police have charged a truck driver from the Hamilton area in a hit-and-run crash that killed a tow truck operator who had been stopped while helping a driver on the side of Highway 401 outside Woodstock, Ont.
Power has been restored to most of Haines Junction after a problem earlier on Monday at the local generating station.