Visually impaired woman’s dream vacation set to take flight again

A visually impaired woman is getting a second chance for a dream vacation to Ireland after her first attempt to leave was scuttled when her service dog was denied boarding.

Nancy Hatch was set to join her friends for a trip to Dublin, having confirmed multiple times with officials in Ireland that she had the appropriate paperwork for her seeing-eye dog Awesome. But those plans hit a major roadblock when she arrived at Pearson airport Wednesday afternoon.

“I got all the veterinary things, they require certain procedures to be done a specific number of days before you fly, then you have to go to a government office and get everything stamped,” she told CityNews.

But Hatch claims staff at the WOW Air desk told her that officials in Reykjavik, Iceland — where she would have a two-hour layover — did not have any record of Awesome’s documentation.

“They said that if my dog went, it could be seized in Iceland and put in quarantine,” she said.

Hatch told CityNews she’s travelled to several countries with a certified service dog and has never had an issue.

She said it was never made clear exactly where the error occurred — whether she had missed a step in the process or it was a glitch in the airline’s system. The most frustrating part, she said, was that airline staff seemed unwilling to help find a solution or offer her a refund.

“It was just, ‘No, we cant do anything.’ It was very dismissive,” explained Peggy Keall, who was scheduled to fly to Dublin with Hatch and their group of friends.

“A little common sense along with compassion would have been nice.”

The two women tried to book a direct flight through Air Transat, which offered them complimentary seats, but ultimately they were unable to go through with it because they were told processing the paperwork through a different airline would take five days.

“I came to go on a vacation wanting to feel like a normal person, blending in with everyone else,” Hatch said.

“Then you get reminded maybe you’re not.”

Since the story aired on CityNews, Hatch said she received messages of support from friends and strangers, including Open Doors, a Chicago-based non-profit organization that advocates for people with disabilities.

Executive Director Eric Lipp told Hatch he had been in contact with both WOW Air and Icelandic officials and everything had been sorted out.

In a statement to CityNews, WOW Air said Hatch had all the necessary paperwork but failed to register the dog in her booking, which she was required to do 48 hours before departure.

“Technically our agents at the airport didn’t do anything wrong but we would have liked to have handled this case differently in light of her having all necessary documents,” said WOW Air spokesperson María Margrét Jóhannsdóttir.

The airline added it had spoken with Hatch and had booked her and Awesome on a flight scheduled to leave Pearson for Dublin via Reykjavik at 7 p.m. Thursday.