Fitness model mom, 42, was thrown off an Air Canada flight for not wearing a mask – even after she showed staff a doctor’s note saying she shouldn’t cover her face because of her ‘severe claustrophobia and anxiety’
- Angelique Bibby, 42, from Vancouver was returning home from a trip to Ottawa
- Bibby had a doctors note requesting her permission to fly without a mask
- She flew two flights without a face mask but on the third she was stopped
- Bibby was refused boarding on her flight from Montreal to Vancouver
- She was forced to purchase another flight with WestJet at a cost of $1,300
A Canadian woman has told of the moment she was denied from boarding an Air Canada flight along with her one-year-old daughter, for refusing to wear a face mask.
Angelique Bibby, 42, from Kelowna, British Columbia, had been visiting her sister in Ottawa and was returning back to her home on the other side of the country.
Bibby was connecting in Montreal and was boarding her cross-country flight when she was suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Angelique Bibby, 42, from Vancouver was returning home from an trip to Ottawa when she was refused boarding on her flight from Montreal
Bibby had already flown two flights without a face mask but on the third she was stopped
‘I thought it would be fine…I already went through this once. They wouldn’t let me get on the plane,’ she said to Castanet News.
‘They told me because I can’t wear a mask, that I’m a risk on the flight and they wouldn’t let me on the plane, and left me stranded in Montreal bawling my eyes out.
‘They told me it wasn’t their problem. When I asked them how I was going to get back to Kelowna, they told me it wasn’t their problem. I got yelled at, treated like a complete criminal, and they wouldn’t even look at me.’
Bibby was surprised by the airline’s staff reaction because she had already taken two flights on her journey over from the west coast without any issues.
Bibby was forced to purchase another flight with WestJet at a cost of $1,300. She is pictured here with her husband Dylan Bibby, left, and right in her workout clothes
She also carried with her a doctor’s note stating her inability to wear a mask due to her tendency to suffer from claustrophobia, which she claims leads to her suffering from anxiety and having panic attacks.
Boarding her flight from Vancouver to Ottawa the previous week, an airline manager contacted an Air Canada doctor, who cleared her to fly.
Expecting similar medical clearance for her return trip, Bibby presented her note but it seemed to make no difference when she showed it to airline officials who called a company doctor. Only on this occasion, she was denied boarding.
‘They literally didn’t give a c*** about me. Because I got upset, and they wouldn’t give me any answers, they threatened to call security and have me kicked out of the airport,’ she explained.
Bibby ended up having to fly back on WestJet for which she had to shell out another $1,300
The aggravating exchange took place in front of Bibby’s one-year-old daughter.
In the end, Bibby was able to secure a seat back to Vancouver on Air Canada’s competitor, WestJet at a cost of $1,300.
‘Everybody was aware of what was going on. They were really kind, and completely generous. They gave me food and wine and made me comfortable,’ Bibby recounted.
Bibby says she tried to contact Air Canada, but was told she had to do everything online and they hung up on her.
Like many airlines at the present time, Air Canada say that face coverings are mandatory throughout a passenger’s entire journey. For travelers that don’t have masks, the airline is able to provide them both at the airport and on board.
In a statement from Air Canada, the company said it can’t comment on specific cases, but ‘face masks covering nose and mouth are mandatory onboard all flights as part of our multi-layered biosafety requirements and medical approvals are required ahead of time for any exemptions… we’re reviewing the situation to ensure it is consistently applied to ensure the comfort, health and safety of all passengers, and are following up directly with the customer.’