Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.
In our last episode, I talked about hosting an immigrant family. Father, mother, and three-year-old daughter left Ukraine in 2022, spent last year in Europe, and now had air tickets, visas, and work permits for Canada. I rented an Airbnb for their first week in Edmonton, and planned the newcomer errands– bank accounts, social insurance numbers, health care cards, drivers’ licenses, etc.
Six days before their visa expired, they showed up at the Amsterdam airport with suitcases, passports, and plane tickets. But KLM denied them boarding. So much for my Monday job in Edmonton as a welcome-to-Canada host. Instead, I was now chief problem solver in a crisis.
I asked church friends to help; we contacted SuperSaver, the website where the newcomers had purchased their tickets. We called Westjet, the ticket supplier. We asked KLM: “Why did you deny them boarding?” A friend wrote a synopsis and sent it to CBC, hoping negative media coverage would embarrass one of the airlines into helping.
We spent three desperate days calling and emailing and discussing, trying to reason or even guilt trip one of the parties to help.
Monday. No progress.
Tuesday. More frustration. I canceled the Edmonton Airbnb.
Wednesday. Still stymied. Ahrrrrrrr!
Nothing was working.
KLM blamed UK immigration. They said that the UK wouldn’t let the family transit through Heathrow. Their solution? The family should have bought a KLM flight direct to Canada instead of a Westjet ticket through SuperSaver.
Thank you, KLM!
Westjet passed the buck too. “They bought the tickets on the SuperSaver website? Then we have to deal with SuperSaver, not the travelers! Tell SuperSaver to phone our agent hotline.”
Thank you, Westjet!
At SuperSaver we talked to super friendly customer care associates. They put the problem into the queue for their super efficient problem solving team to call Westjet and help us out. And the result? Nothing. Nada. Our request was sucked into a SuperSaver black hole, where it’s probably still spinning round and round.
Thank you, SuperSaver!
By Thursday, with only three days left on the family’s visas, we knew we needed a different solution. Last-minute flights to Canada? Wow! Now priced at $3,500 each one way! That’s more than $10,000.
What to do? Should I try fundraising? Should I try finding a sponsor with money? We were scrambling!
Then, an email from the newcomer father. A relative agreed, unhappily, to loan airfare for his wife and daughter. The father used most of the family savings for his own ticket. This time, no more SuperSaver. No more Westjet. Just expensive, last-minute direct flights to Canada.
The new schedule had them arriving in Canada the next day, Friday, in Calgary, 250 km from my home.
I quickly rented a new Airbnb in Edmonton. On Friday as I drove to Calgary, a friend stocked the Airbnb with food and flowers and welcome gifts.
My hosting duties were about to begin. Tune into the next episode for news of the family’s arrival.
Let’s pray.
O father, Canada is a short plane ride from Europe . . . except when immigration officers deny transit, and airlines and internet travel sites won’t help.
Only a privileged few can flee war, climate change, and hate in their home country to start a new life in a safe country. Millions remain at home, living in war, hunger, and danger.
We remember Gaza and Ukraine and Haiti and Sudan and Lebanon. People in war zones and refugee camps. Politicians unable or unwilling to care. Diplomacy conducted with AK47’s and laser-guided bombs.
O father, may our country be a refuge for many. Bring your peace and your kingdom to our war-torn earth.
Amen.
I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.
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