After two decades of travelling together, Twyla Shannahan knew when her husband Lawrence died, he’d want to be taken back east to where he was originally from.
When Lawrence died in February, Shannahan, who lived in northern Alberta, began planning the trip to Newfoundland to scatter his ashes in the water.
But instead of arriving together, the widow had to track down her husband’s ashes that ended up in Montreal instead.
“He was late for his own funeral,” she told Global News. “He was a jokester so he would be getting a complete chuckle out of all of this because he’s had quite the ordeal.”
Shannahan, however, was rather shaken.
She had all of the proper documentation to transport the ashes but said upon arriving at the Edmonton International Airport, was told they’d have to go in a checked bag.
“They said, ‘No, he has to get checked now,’ and I just said, ‘OK, I’m not really happy about this but please respect him and treat him gently,’” she said of the conversation with Air Canada.
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When Shannahan arrived in St. John’s, one of her bags was missing.
“Instantly, I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to be sick.”
When Shannahan finally got the ashes back, she said Air Canada offered her a $200 voucher.
“I actually started laughing,” she said. “All of my stress and grief is worth $200 that you have to use within one year.”
Air Canada told Global News in a statement that cremated remains are accepted as carry-on “provided they meet applicable security requirements.”
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“We regret that the customer’s checked baggage containing the cremated remains was delayed. We can confirm it has since been reunited with the customer,” Sean Davidson, an Air Canada spokesperson, said.
Shannahan said she wants to see airlines investigate their policies and procedures to ensure no one else finds themselves in the same position.
Having worked in health and safety, she said Lawrence would find the lesson in the ordeal.
“Policies and procedures were his life,” she said. “And so you investigate them to make sure that this kind of hurt and this kind of injury or incident doesn’t happen again.”
Rules for transporting cremated remains
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) said permission to fly with cremated remains depends on whether screening can be successfully completed.
“Although passengers may wish to bring cremated remains on the plane with them, cremated remains are a dense material that can be difficult to screen, with certain container materials adding complexity,” the spokesperson said, adding metal, stone or ceramic containers are more likely to generate alarms.
CATSA also said it recommends passengers consider “alternative transportation, such as shipping via cargo air services.”
“This can help avoid delays or distress at the screening checkpoint, particularly for larger quantities of cremated remains or when container materials may complicate screening,” the spokesperson said.
This post is rather long but our family wanted to share this horrendous experience myself and Ashley Glover experienced while travelling with our mom’s ashes from Fort McMurray to Gander on January 16th with Air Canada.
It all began when our flights were cancelled Thursday evening due to weather in Toronto. As a result, we were rebooked for Friday the 16th if January travelling from Fort McMurray to Calgary, then Montreal, Halifax, and finally Gander.
When we left, we were travelling with our mom’s ashes to bring her home to Newfoundland. We ensured she was in an appropriate container that followed Air Canada’s rules and regulations for travelling with human remains. This was confirmed with both Air Canada and the funeral home.
We departed Fort McMurray on Tuesday and placed her through security with us without any issues. We had the proper documentation available if required. She was seated under the seat in front of us. The same process was followed in Calgary, again without issue. Everyone was respectful and understanding.
We landed in Montreal at 11:30 p.m. and had an eight-hour layover. Because we could not check our bags until 4:00 a.m. for our 7:50 a.m. flight to Halifax, we were required to pick up our luggage and wait outside security.
At 4:00 a.m., we checked our bags and proceeded through security. We placed the container with our mom’s ashes in the required bin, and it was screened. We were then pulled aside, and a manager came to speak with us regarding the remains. He offered his condolences and then informed us that we were not allowed to travel with the remains in the cabin and that they would need to be placed in the cargo hold.
We explained that this contradicted Air Canada’s and CATSA policy and that we had followed all required guidelines. The ashes were in a proper plastic travel container and placed inside a plastic bag. We also had all required documentation. We had experienced no issues at either Fort McMurray or Calgary.
CATSA – Security staff then swabbed the container for chemicals and told us they had new scanners and could not see through the remains. They could not comprehend that the container was not an urn, it was a travel container requotwd by all Airlines in Canada. We explained that the metal urn had been checked in our luggage, as we knew it could not be carried on.
The manager then told us we would have to remove personal belongings from our carry-on and place the remains inside it so they could be checked as baggage. We were not able to do this as our carry on had medications and supplies that we needed. The ashes would not fit and we couldnt leave our things and wr dodnt have another bag. We were directed to leave security and speak with an Air Canada agent to see if they were able to assist us or if we could take moms ashes to the plane and then they keep them until we got off. That way we knew where she was and not being lost.
An Air Canada agent did assist us and understood how upset we were, as we did not want our mom placed in the cargo hold due to the risk of loss or damage. We were reassured that Air Canada does not lose luggage.
Unfortunately, our carry-on contained insulin and other medical necessities that could not be checked. We had nothing suitable to place her remains in. Eventually, staff found a cardboard box, placed her container inside with a plastic bag over it in case it broke, and had us write my name and phone number on the box. A baggage label was attached, and it was sent to Gander.
We reluctantly agreed, as we had no other option and needed to bring our mom home.
We travelled from Montreal to Halifax as scheduled. During our short layover, we received an email from Air Canada stating our luggage was on Carousel 1 at the Halifax airport. We could see our checked bags on the cart outside the window but did not see the box containing our mom’s ashes.
A wonderful staff member went above and beyond, radioing multiple departments to locate the box. After some time, a gentleman arrived carrying the box and informed us that it had been circling on the main terminal carousel of Halifax airport. She was suppose to be directed to Gander, but for some reason they didnt read the luggage tags attached to the box.
He boarded the aircraft and spoke with the staff and pilot regarding what had occurred in Montreal. They were completely fine with allowing us to carry our mom’s remains in the cabin and stated it was much safer than placing them in the cargo hold.
We were instructed to remove her remains from the cardboard box and carry her with us as we had done throughout the journey. They apologized several times on behalf of the Montreal CATSA security staff and Air Canada.
We were incredibly grateful and were finally able to bring our mom home to her final resting place.
Shame on you Air Canada and @CATSA have some respect and human decency for passengers carrying deceased loved ones remains. Educate and train your staff on proper rules and regulations, so this dont happen to another family.
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Please share and make people aware of the awful experience Air Canada and CATSA put our family though and to help prevent another family from the added stress during an already difficult time.
If all people only had this much care for each other when alive…
I had same situation trying to bring my.daughters partner back to newfoundland. It wasn’t the westjet people who said no it was the people at security who said no. I was gutted and afraid his remains would be lost. Airlines and security need to update policies. No.reason why ashes fr a funeral home cannot be carried on so.siyuayions like this dont happen
“to scatter them in the water”
I believe you need a federal permit for this in Canada.
Once the airline lost my bag containing my toothbrush. I cried for days but got the bag back like this lady. Now THAT should have been national news!
Oh my god. Does any minister in charge of these azzholes have any balls at all to slap these airlines into line? What a bunch of garbage! So, so glad I do not fly.
Oh puleeze