TORONTO – He’s been reported missing by his family since 2004, but Kurt Sampson is alive and well, and still trapped on the same Air Canada flight he boarded to Calgary.
The now-bearded telecommunications employee has called this Airbus A321 his home ever since he was abandoned by cabin crew one fateful November night.
“I took a business trip when…I think I was 33…and dozed off just before landing,” said the marooned man in 15A who is now 48. “I woke up in a cold hangar and tried to get someone’s attention, but then I knew my rescue would not be coming.”
Sampson’s only way to survive his harrowing ordeal was to turn his inflatable travel pillow into a friend, and survive on a diet of free water and dry pretzels since he was on a domestic flight that doesn’t offer a meal. He has since passed the time watching the same movies on mute since he was unable to afford the nominal fee for headphones.
“Each chance I get to escape, I’m bowled over by first class passengers’ luggage or I’m politely told to take my seat by a steward, and I don’t want to be rude,” added Sampson. “Being a flight attendant is a hard job.”
At press time, Air Canada has included ‘missing passengers’ to the company’s Delayed or Damaged Baggage claims, but will only cover $100 for each lost customer.
