Two die-hard CFL fans, who have not missed a Grey Cup final in at least eight years, are now looking for answers from Air Canada after they returned home to Vancouver from Regina on Sunday.
They both attended the 101st Grey Cup between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Hamilton Tiger Cats, but say they are now missing football jerseys and items of memorabilia they cannot replace.
Marcia McNaughton, a Cloverdale resident, lives and breathes football. She will travel all across the country to make sure she doesn’t miss a Grey Cup. She has flown with Air Canada and West Jet and has never had any issues in the past. This time, she says Air Canada changed her flights a few times before she left and due to a delay on the way home, she missed her connecting flight in Calgary.
When she arrived in Vancouver, she was told her bag was delayed and would have to be delivered to her home. When it arrived she says everything of value was gone.
She is now missing two CFL jerseys, one signed by BC Lions player Khalif Mitchell, a commemorative CFL coin given to her by the commissioner, an engraved flask and a signed Dante Marsh poster. She is also missing items such as her hair straightener, her expensive mascara and perfume.
She thinks her bag was targeted by someone and she wants to know what happened.
“They went through it in such detail, the zipper lining was gone through,” she says. “It was targeted clearly, they knew what they were doing.”
McNaughton has called Air Canada and is waiting to hear back from them.
Another passenger on same flight was Kyle Dunn. The Surrey resident who knows McNaughton because they both have BC Lions seasons tickets.
When McNaughton noticed some items were missing from her bag, she contacted Dunn on Twitter and told him to check his bag.
He also says some items are missing.
He had a BC Lions Game Style Korey Banks jersey in his bag and it is now missing. He says he got this one through a friend as you cannot purchase game jerseys from stores. He is also missing a Canada flag, a BC Lions flag and a shirt.
Some of his other items, including large novelty helmets that he wears to the game are banged up, and he says it looks like they were thrown around.
“It’s very unnerving,” he says. “It’s sickening. I go to the Grey Cup every year and I’ve never had a problem.” This year was actually his twelfth trip to the Grey Cup.
He says he can’t understand it because the luggage would not have been in anyone else’s possession other than the airline and himself.
Neither McNaughton nor Dunn had locks on their luggage during this trip.
“I plan on watching Craigslist and EBay now,” says Dunn.
A spokesperson for Air Canada provided this statement to Global News:
“We regret hearing these reports, and customers should complete a baggage complaint online at aircanada.com which will be reviewed by our baggage claims team. Customers will be required to complete a police report for any alleged missing items just as they would be required to do for any insurance claim, in the jurisdiction in which items are alleged to have been missing. (For YVR, this would be Richmond RCMP).”
“It is important to note that many people have access to checked bags in the journey from check-in to final destinations as there are many touch points where people performing different jobs for different companies and government agencies may have access to bags, and the public at places such as YVR Airport domestic arrivals carousels.”
“Finally, Air Canada advises customers to always ensure that valuables including medications, electronics, money etc. are packed in carry-on baggage when travelling – this is posted on the aircanada.com website.”
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