South Alberta Flight Academy’s D.C. trip a bust
By Samantha Johnson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on July 25, 2023.
reporter@medicinehatnews.com After months of planning, organizing and fundraising, it was a disappointment when the trip didn’t happen as planned for students of South Alberta Flight Academy. The group had been looking forward to the trip for months and were due to be in Washington, D.C. on June 30 to return home July 4. The first leg of the trip was a flight on Air Canada to Montreal, which was delayed by close to two hours. The delay resulted in the group missing their booked connection to Washington. Staff attempted to have the plane departing from Montreal wait for them, but they would have arrived too late and customs would not be open to allow them through. Organizers didn’t give up and looked into other flights, but all were nearly full and the group couldn’t arrive via air until the Saturday, which would have meant they missed most of the trip. Train travel would have taken 14 hours and they would have had to remain in Montreal overnight before boarding, again resulting in missing key components of the trip. Buses through different companies were also looked into, but all were fully booked. In the end, the trip didn’t happen. Air Canada has taken full responsibility and a refund process was started immediately. The weekend of July 4, combined with events in Toronto and Montreal contributed to the congestion. “On a positive note, we were very proud of the students and how well they handled the bad news,” wrote superintendent Reagan Weeks to parents and students. “You have incredible kids. This is a group that has dealt with many cancellations and we will do our best to make it up to them. Several asked if we would try again and we will, with graduates of the program welcome. Again, we couldn’t be more sorry this happened.” 12-11
