'StarCraft' caster's wife turned away at airport because infant twins violated safety regulations
Tara Stemkoski, wife of professional StarCraft II caster Daniel "Artosis" Stemkoski, was planning on flying to her hometown with her three children to visit her sick grandmother. But Artosis was traveling to Shanghai to work the IEM Shanghai StarCraft II tournament, and so somehow that meant momma Stemkoski wasn't legally allowed to board the plane.
Stemkoski booked an Air Canada flight from Seoul, South Korea, to Prince Edward Island in Canada, double-checking along the way that she'd be allowed to travel alone with her 3-month-old twins and 5-year-old daughter, CBC News reported Wednesday.
But after checking in at the airport, she was turned away. Canadian aviation regulations require one adult to accompany each child under the age of two.
The plan was for Artosis to join Stemkoski in Prince Edward Island -- her hometown -- three weeks later. But without her husband or another adult to accompany her, Stemkoski wasn't able to travel with her kids to visit her 80-year-old grandmother who was sick.
"I was pretty upset by that point in time," she told CBC News. "I was trying to hold back the tears of just the thought of having to call my family and my nan and tell them that this wasn't happening."
"I was trying to hold back the tears ... "
The regulation requires one adult per infant in case there's an emergency -- parents need to be able to safely evacuate a plane with their children.
Stemkoski told CBC News that she contacted Air Canada, which waived the normal cancellation fees, refunded her tickets, and booked her a ticket to travel with her husband later. On top of that, Air Canada offered an extra adult return ticket from Prince Edward Island back to Seoul so Stemkoski could return with someone else.
"We're so sorry we didn't get this right the first time during the booking process," an Air Canada spokesperson told CBC News. "We've been in contact with the family and have made arrangements to make sure they all get to see their nan as soon as possible."
That said, Stemkoski wasn't happy that she made it so far along in the travel process before anyone realized she couldn't fly with her infant twins.
"It's almost laughable to be honest," Stemkoski told CBC News. "It's just so ludicrous that you'd get through booking and reconfirming and getting your boarding pass and everything before someone thinks to check in the manual."
At least it's better than getting dragged off an airplane *cough* United Airlines *cough*
