Air Canada leaves 'scared' teenage boy stranded at Toronto airport overnight

A 15-year-old was left to fend for himself at the airport after his airline refused to provide accommodation or food vouchers

Air Canada failed to provide accommodation for a minor (Getty Images)

Fifteen-year-old Derrin Espinola was left “trapped” at Toronto Pearson airport overnight after Air Canada failed to provide him with accommodation.

Espinola was flying from Denver to Thunder Bay by himself on 1 May, with a stopover in Toronto. However, a delay at Denver meant he missed his connecting flight.

Appealing to the airline, Air Canada, for help, the teenager was told they could rebook him onto a flight to Thunder Bay at 6pm the following day – but there was no offer of food vouchers or accommodation for the night.

"I was trapped in the airport and there was nowhere I could go. I could not leave. I could not get a hotel, because I am a minor," Espinola told CBC News. "It was like being held prisoner.

"I was very hungry, very tired, very scared. I didn't know really what was going to happen to me."

Espinola said he visited several Air Canada desks, explaining that he was a minor and needed help, but none was forthcoming. He spent much of the night trying to stay awake for fear of being robbed.

Meanwhile his mother, Karin Patock, attempted to get her son help by spending hours on the phone to Air Canada. However, she said she was given a message "the airport is under construction and we cannot accommodate anyone right now, so call back later.” She said: “To me that is unacceptable."

Air Canada says on its website that, in the event of delays, "Youths travelling alone (ages 12 to 17) will be taken care of by our agents. We will also arrange for accommodations, meals and transportation if needed."

Espinola was booked onto a flight the following day (Getty Images)

Espinola, despite being a minor, was not offered these services. Patock said Air Canada “rebooked him like any other person, into the next day with no thought of what's going to happen to him when he lands in Toronto in one of the biggest airports in Canada, all by himself."

The drama continued to unfold, as the flight Espinola was rebooked onto was cancelled – meaning he would have to stay another night at the airport until 3 May. However, his family intervened at this stage and paid for him to fly with another airline.

An Air Canada spokesperson said: "It has been a challenge with the ongoing runway construction at Toronto Pearson, which was also compounded by severe weather conditions last week in the Toronto-Montreal-Ottawa and surrounding areas, including recent adverse conditions in Thunder Bay." The airline has said it is looking into the incident and will be "reaching out to the family."

Patock has filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency.