Ottawa-area man reunited with wheelchair four days after Sunwing flight home

An Ottawa-area man has been reunited with his wheelchair after it was lost for four days following a flight home on Sunwing Airlines.

Cory Beausoleil says his wheelchair never showed up at the Ottawa International Airport after his family’s direct flight home from Cancun on Saturday.

After waiting more than hour after arriving, Beausoleil’s mother asked an airport staff member they were still looking for the wheelchair, and was told the wheelchair wasn’t anywhere in the airport.

"We waited with everybody else to get our luggage, and they basically told me that my wheelchair didn't make it on the plane," Beausoleil said. 

Four days later, on Tuesday, a staff member from the Ottawa Airport called him to let him know the wheelchair had arrived and would be delivered to his home.

"I have been without a chair for four days, unable to do grocery shopping, or go outside with my dog, do regular normal activity," he said. "It's not like lost luggage; it's a part of who I am. It's a part of me having full independence."

Beausoleil lives with cerebral palsy and relies on a wheelchair. He has travelled often with his wheelchair and has never had any issues until now.

He says he got no details or communication from Sunwing over the past few days. The family filed multiple lost luggage reports and left several voicemails.

"At least give us an update as to what is going on, who is helping," he said. "It has all been radio silence; to me the communication has been zero."

Since coming home, Beausoleil has had to use a walker, but his mobility is limited and it is difficult to get around. The family took to social media, posting about the lost wheelchair. The post has been reshared more than 900 times.

He said a chair like his costs more than $2,000.

"I haven’t been able to do the activity I would normally be doing," he says. "I need to keep my life on track so for that reason I probably would have just bought a new chair."

Beausoleil says the Ottawa Airport has been extremely helpful, lending him an airport wheelchair so he could return home, and it was the airport that called him to say his wheelchair was found. After 8 p.m. on Tuesday, it was delivered to his home.

Relieved the wheelchair is back, Beausoleil says he wanted to share his experience in hopes to make the airline accountable, and to make sure it doesn’t happen again to anyone else.

"It was about pressure. Some people are stuck with a wheelchair being their only mode of transportation. For me, I can use my walker or crutches, but some people, it’s their only mode of transportation, and even 24 hours would be a lot, so four days is unacceptable. I am happy it is resolved, but it took too much time."

"Hopefully this platform can help shine light on this situation and help other people."

In a statement to CTV News earlier on Tuesday, Sunwing said: "We can confirm a baggage claim was made by the family on Sunday, January 29, regarding a missing wheelchair following their northbound travels from Cancun to Ottawa. We are pleased to confirm the customer's wheelchair has since been located by our airline staff and is being delivered to the family today. We apologize to the family for the inconvenience and look forward to reuniting them with their wheelchair, and hope they choose to travel with us again in future."

- with files from Shaun Vardon, CTV News Ottawa