A West Kelowna doctor and his spouse have filed separate lawsuits against WestJet, seeking $35,000 each, after they were forced to spend what they describe as “three and a half miserable days in Mexico” when the airline allegedly wouldn't allow them to board a plane back home.
Dr. Garland Reynolds, a family physician in West Kelowna, and his spouse Nordia Banton-Reynolds filed separate lawsuits in B.C.'s Small Claims Court on Monday, stemming from an incident during their family's trip from Kelowna to Cancun this past November.
In his suit, Reynolds says the couple, along with their two children, travelled from Kelowna to to Cancun on Nov. 2, 2023 for what was planned to be a five-day vacation. But he says things went off the rails when they tried to return home on Nov. 6.
“The WestJet supervisor at the airport in Cancun Mexico decided that Nordia Banton-Reynolds (my spouse) did not have the appropriate travel documents to board WestJet Flight Number WS2065 to Canada,” the notice of civil claim states.
“Your employee/agent cited WestJet policy about documents for residents in Canada and unjustly refused my spouse permission to board the WestJet aircraft to return to Canada.”
The couple says the WestJet employee told them they would have to travel to the Canadian embassy in Mexico City to obtain new travel documents, but when contacted, the embassy told them an appointment would have to be booked and it could take upwards of three weeks.
Rather than travel more than 1,200 kilometres to Mexico City, Reynold says they instead booked a flight home with Air Canada on Nov. 10.
“Remarkably, I presented the same travel documents to your competitor Air Canada and the travel documents refused by WestJet were examined and found to be valid for re-entry into Canada and that there was no need for new travel documents,” Nordia wrote in her claim.
“My family and I were able to board an aircraft for the return trip to Canada. Further, I presented the travel documents to Canada Border Service Agency at the port of entry in Canada and was able to enter Canada without any query about my status or exit from Canada.”
In Dr. Garland Reynolds' notice of civil claim, he's seeking more than $6,610 for the cost of flights and taxis, $2,712 for additional hotel accommodations and meals, $4,200 for lost income, and an additional $21,464 for “emotional trauma and stress suffered." This brings the damages sought to $35,000, the maximum a person can sue for in small claims court.
Through her separate lawsuit, Nordia Banton-Reynolds is also seeking an additional $35,000 – $25,664 of which is for “emotional trauma and stress suffered.”
WestJet has not formally responded to the suits. The allegations made by Dr. Garland Reyonlds and Nordia Banton-Reynolds have not been tested in court.
A WestJet spokesperson said the company does not comment on matters that are before the courts.
