Airline sparks outrage after losing human ashes and offering $200 voucher

Losing your luggage is annoying. But losing a bag containing your late husband's ashes is a whole different level of nightmare fuel. That's what happened to Twyla Shannahan, who flew Air Canada from Edmonton to St. John's on June 10 intending to scatter her husband's ashes in Newfoundland, his home province. 

The airline made her check the urn but then lost the bag. As a goodwill gesture, they offered her a CA$200 digital voucher, But she was not impressed.

The ashes were supposed to stay in her carry-on

Shannahan had made arrangements before the trip because she knew transporting cremated remains required some extra care. Her plan was to keep her husband's ashes with her during the flight.

But according to CBC News, an Air Canada agent at Edmonton International Airport told her that new rules required the ashes to be checked instead. So she put the urn in her luggage. When she arrived in St. John's, her luggage didn't.

For someone traveling with ordinary clothes and toiletries, a delayed suitcase might be just an annoying travel problem. But for Shannahan, this wasn't ordinary luggage. She was carrying the remains of her husband, who had died in February.

Air Canada eventually found the bag in Montréal

Air Canada later confirmed that the missing bag was in Montréal. The airline offered to have it delivered to Shannahan by courier. Understandably, after the bag had already gone missing once, she was not exactly overflowing with confidence in the airline's luggage system. Instead, she traveled to Montréal herself to retrieve it.

And then came the compensation offer: a CA$200 digital credit. But it came with a catch. She'd have to spend more money with the same airline to use it.

So, Shannahan rejected the voucher, calling the offer offensive. She is now calling on Air Canada to rethink how it handles human remains so other grieving passengers don't end up in the same situation.

Can you actually fly with human ashes?

Air Canada itself told CBC that cremated remains can be carried in hand luggage if they meet the applicable security requirements and documentation rules. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority also acknowledged how sensitive these situations are and said passengers and their loved ones should be treated with dignity while security regulations are followed.

So the big question is what happened at the airport. If the ashes could have traveled in the cabin with the appropriate documentation, why was Shannahan reportedly told she had to check them?

Sources: InsideFlyer, Simple Flying