Twyla Shannahan says she never should have been separated from her husband’s ashes on a flight from Alberta to Newfoundland.
The Alberta widow is calling for an investigation after Air Canada temporarily lost her late husband’s cremated remains after she was forced to place them in a checked bag, rather than carry them on board.
“This is not luggage … this is a human being,” Shannahan said. “This is my husband, and he wasn’t treated the way he should have been.”
When Shannahan’s husband died in February, she knew she wanted to scatter his ashes in the ocean and made plans to bring his remains back east to his home province.
The couple had spent two decades travelling the world together but Newfoundland always had his heart, she said.
“We had talked about what would happen if something ever happened, and that’s what he wanted,” she said.
“He wanted to go back home, so that was my job. I had to get him home.”
Shannahan, a resident of Webster, Alta., was eager to honour his wishes. After making arrangements for a memorial with his relatives back east, she booked a June 10 flight from Edmonton to St. John’s.
Shannahan said she had gathered all the required documentation and had called Air Canada weeks before to ensure she met protocol to carry the ashes in her carry-on luggage.
However, when she arrived to check in at Edmonton International Airport, an Air Canada agent told her the remains had to go into a checked bag due to “new rules.”
Shannahan said she felt sick but reluctantly followed their orders so she could board her flight.
When she arrived in St. John’s, one of her bags — the one with the remains inside — was missing.
“My soul just dropped right out of me,” Shannahan recalled. “I said like, ‘I failed him. I had one job and I failed him.'”
“I just dropped to my knees instantly. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Like where is my husband?”
After waiting overnight for Air Canada to open, she learned the ashes had been sent to Montreal. When the airline offered to courier them to her, she insisted on collecting them herself.
“I got off that airplane, my husband didn’t, and there’s a problem with the system,” she said.
“If I can do anything for Lawrence, I’d like to hopefully help make changes to that. This shouldn’t happen to another family.”
‘Just regular luggage to them’: Widow upset after Air Canada temporarily loses husband’s ashes
In a statement to CBC News, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) — the federal agency responsible for airport security screening — said that while cremated remains are generally permitted in carry-on luggage, this depends on whether security screening can be successfully carried out.
Because dense materials like metal or stone urns can block X-ray machines, CATSA officials said that unresolved screening alarms may require passengers to check the container with their airline in accordance with Transport Canada regulations.
“We recognize how sensitive and emotional such a situation can be,” CATSA officials said in a statement.
“We are committed to treating passengers and their loved ones with dignity and respect while ensuring compliance with the regulations.”
In a statement to CBC News, officials with Air Canada also confirmed that cremated remains are accepted as carry-on “provided they meet applicable security requirements.”
“We regret that the customer’s checked baggage containing the cremated remains was delayed,” the airline wrote.
Documentation provided by Shannahan shows that Air Canada, in its initial email response to her complaint, offered her an apology and a $200 travel voucher as a “gesture of goodwill for the stress caused.”
She said a digital coupon requiring her to spend more money with the airline felt offensive.
She remains dissatisfied with the airline’s formal response, which she felt improperly blamed Transport Canada and treated her husband’s remains as merely a piece of replaceable luggage.
She successfully scattered her husband’s ashes in the ocean in Newfoundland as she had planned but said she still wants answers.
In a formal complaint she shared with CBC News, Shannahan asked Air Canada to escalate the case to someone with the authority to investigate it properly and provide meaningful compensation.
She is calling for a systemic audit of Air Canada’s policies and procedures regarding the transport of human remains, hoping policy changes will prevent this from happening to another grieving family.
She said she has already heard from other travellers who have faced similar mishaps.
“A grieving passenger shouldn’t have to navigate this,” she said. “I am still devastated by it.”
