A trip to Jamaica in 2023 by a family in Brampton, Ont. to spread the ashes of their late brother went bad when their checked luggage, which contained their brother’s remains, could not be found upon their arrival.
While talking to CTV News recently, Charles Matthews said: “It was sad for me to lose him. We did everything together. He was like my twin brother.”
Conroy, Charles’s brother, died in January 2023.
According to Matthews, his brother’s final wish was that his cremated remains be placed beside their mother’s gravesite in Jamaica.
Matthews said: “He requested before he passed away that we take some of his ashes and put them beside our mom.”
The Matthews family flew to Jamaica in March on an Air Canada flight with Conroy’s ashes checked in a suitcase.
Matthews said when they arrived in Jamaica, all the suitcases arrived except the one that contained the ashes.
Jean Bennett, Conroy’s sister, said: “It was very sad, very depressing. There were 10 of us that went down to have a memorial service for my brother, but there was no body or ashes for the service to take place.”
Matthews said he contacted the airport in Jamaica, went in person many times and filled out a missing baggage form. He said he contacted Air Canada when he got back to Canada the following month and was told that it would be sent to him as soon as it was recovered but that never happened.
Bennett said: “It would be a miracle to get that luggage back, but we are still hoping. We have had no form of compensation, not even kind words.”
In a statement to CTV News, Air Canada’s spokesperson called the situation “very unfortunate.”
The spokesperson said: “It is regrettable the customer did not report it to us at the time it occurred, and instead only reported it to the airport and then Air Canada approximately three months after the flight.”
Also, Air Canada noted that “cremated remains may be carried on board, in addition to your carry-on allowance, provided they are stored in a cardboard or wooden box or an urn made of a material that can be security screened (with a tight-fitting lid to ensure no spillage occurs).”
Air Canada said: “Although we did attempt to locate the bag once we learned of this matter, due to the prolonged delay in making us aware of the situation it was not possible to discover how this occurred nor trace the bag after that length of time had elapsed. There are also limits within which compensation can be claimed and these were exceeded in this case.”
Matthews said he thought he did give Air Canada proper information and he felt terrible he was not able to fulfil his brother’s final wishes.
He said: “He asked me to put him beside my mother and it makes me feel bad that I let him down with that.”
