Grandmother seeks answers to BA faux pas

An airline company that failed to ensure two Londonderry children were on a flight to Canada have still not responded to the family’s appeal for answers.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Oct 2014, 08:00 BST
Irene Hewitt, whose grandchildren, Ben (10) and Shelby (7), were stranded in London when BA staff did not put them on their flight home to Calgary in Canada.Irene Hewitt, whose grandchildren, Ben (10) and Shelby (7), were stranded in London when BA staff did not put them on their flight home to Calgary in Canada.
Irene Hewitt, whose grandchildren, Ben (10) and Shelby (7), were stranded in London when BA staff did not put them on their flight home to Calgary in Canada.

Eight weeks ago, Ben (10) and his little sister, Shelby (7), having spent the summer in Londonderry with their father, Philip Hewitt, from the Waterside, should have been on a British Airways evening flight to Canada. Instead, they spent the night in a BA staff hotel, on their own. A male member of staff stayed in the connecting room to theirs.

The children’s grandmother, Irene Hewitt, says she is disgusted that, eight weeks on, despite emails, telephone calls and letters, the family still have not received answers to their questions.

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“Philip had gone back to the check-in desk to make sure the children were on the flight and had stood and watched the aeroplane take off. The woman on the desk assured him they were on the flight and turned the terminal round so he could see the listing. We want to know how this lapse occurred. We want to know who was responsible for the children once they went through check-in and customs and were taken to the solo lounge. If their baggage was put on the plane then who took it off again?

Irene Hewitt, whose grandchildren, Ben (10) and Shelby (7), were stranded in London when BA staff did not put them on their flight home to Calgary in Canada.Irene Hewitt, whose grandchildren, Ben (10) and Shelby (7), were stranded in London when BA staff did not put them on their flight home to Calgary in Canada.
Irene Hewitt, whose grandchildren, Ben (10) and Shelby (7), were stranded in London when BA staff did not put them on their flight home to Calgary in Canada.

“We also want to know about the people in charge of the children and if they were properly trained. We were all up to high doe and I think the way we were treated was disgusting,” said Irene.

Stressing that the company catered for tens of thousands of travellers every year, a spokesman for BA said: “We are very sorry that the children were not able to travel as originally planned. The children were cared for by a member of our staff throughout, we organised hotel accommodation and meals, and rebooked them to travel the following day. We have conducted a thorough investigation into what happened, and we’ll use the findings to make sure this cannot be repeated. We are sorry for the delay in responding to the family, and we have offered a gesture of goodwill by way of apology.”

To watch an in-depth video interview with Mrs Hewitt on story, log onto www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk

Related topics:CanadaBritish Airways