WestJet airlines has suspended a program that allows minors to fly alone after a five-year-old girl travelling last week was able to leave her flight with a stranger.
WestJet said Monday it will not book any new young passengers until an internal review is completed and any necessary changes are made.
"We will continue to honour all those bookings that have already been made but we are not currently accepting any new bookings under the unaccompanied minor fare," said airline spokeswoman Gillian Bentley.
The move comes after Sara-Maude St-Louis, 5, was taking her first plane ride Thursday from Edmonton, where she lives with her mother, to Montreal to see her father.
The parents paid $50 each way to ensure someone from the airline would check on her during the flight and then escort the little girl off the plane when she arrived at her destination, which is the company's policy for unaccompanied minors.
But her father Steve St-Louis said that no one checked on his daughter, who was wearing a large VIP tag around her neck.
Instead, the man seated next to her, a father of four who played games with the girl during the flight, walked the five-year-old off the plane as crew members waved goodbye to them.
Canada does not have a policy that makes it mandatory for airlines to look after children who travel alone.
WestJet's internal investigation is expected to wrap up Tuesday.
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