Couple found near highway after missing flight at Pearson Airport in Mississauga
Published December 29, 2023 at 2:57 pm
An older couple travelling through Pearson Airport in Mississauga late on Christmas Day inadvertently found themselves outside near a busy highway instead of on board a planned nighttime flight to Calgary.
According to Peel Regional Police, who received a call from a member of the public at about 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 26 for an older couple in need of assistance, responding officers located the pair of travellers “in good health” on the street near Airport Road not far from Pearson’s Terminal 3.
The area of the busy road where the man and woman were located by police is close to Highway 409, with Highway 427 a bit farther away.
A Peel police spokesperson told insauga.com on Friday afternoon that officers then returned the couple to the nearby Peel Regional Police Airport Division, where they were reunited with family members.
The couple had reportedly taken an Air Transat flight from the UK to Pearson earlier on Christmas Day and were then scheduled to connect with a 9 p.m. Dec. 25 flight to the Alberta city.
Earlier today, CP24 reported that the two travellers were described by a family member as having mild dementia and that they were Calgary-bound to visit their daughters.
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In a statement sent to insauga.com via email, a spokesperson for Air Transat said the airline provided the needed assistance to help the couple get to their connecting flight inside Terminal 3.
“The necessary assistance requested, which was wheelchair support, was provided. Scans from Airport Assistance Services confirm that the passengers were taken to the connecting counter at 5 p.m. and their boarding cards were scanned, demonstrating that they made the connection for their (Calgary) flight, which was not scheduled to depart until 9 p.m.,” the statement reads.
“It is also important to note that no Special Service Request indicated a need for meet-and-assist or extra assistance due to a hidden disability. This preliminary information confirms that we fulfilled the requested assistance.
However, once passengers are under the care of a connecting airline and have completed their transit through the airport, their surveillance is not within our remit. Unfortunately, if the passengers decided to leave the airport on their own accord, it would not have been within our capacity to prevent this.”
The statement from Air Transat continues, noting the carrier understands “the gravity of the situation and the distress it has caused” the family.
“As such, we are contacting the family today to discuss the incident and offer our assistance in rebooking them on a flight to Calgary free of charge.”
Map shows Pearson Airport in Mississauga and surrounding area. An older couple missed their flight on Christmas Day and were found by police a short time later in the area of Airport Road, not far from Terminal 3.