A Canadian woman, nine weeks pregnant, delivered her baby prematurely in Florida after her WestJet flight from Jamaica was canceled. Julia Henry, who was 31 weeks pregnant, and her husband, Jordan, were scheduled to fly from Kingston, Jamaica, to Winnipeg, Canada, on August 3.
They were informed their flight was canceled and were told they would be rebooked. After not hearing from the airline, they contacted an agent and were informed the earliest they could be rebooked was August 7, with arrival in Winnipeg not until August 9. Further attempts to secure an earlier flight, including requests to be rebooked on an Air Canada flight or a U.S. airline, were unsuccessful due to inventory limitations.
The couple ultimately spent more than $4,500 on new flights, traveling through Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on August 6, with a connecting flight to Winnipeg on August 8.
Upon arriving in Florida, Julia began to feel unwell and was admitted to a hospital, where she went into premature labor. The day before their scheduled flight to Canada, their daughter, Keziah, was born.
The family is now facing an extended stay in Fort Lauderdale while their newborn daughter remains in the NICU. The situation has led to accumulating expenses for accommodation, transportation, and food, according to Julia's mother, Krista Fidler.
Fidler believes the stress from the flight cancellation contributed to Julia's early labor, stating, "I believe in my heart of hearts that Julia would still be pregnant if she was home, and they would have got their flight home on Monday." Julia has expressed disappointment with WestJet's handling of the situation.
WestJet has stated they were made aware of the situation through media reports and are investigating the booking, adding that they will reach out to the guest directly.
