Metro Vancouver students stuck in Senegal due to Brussels terrorist attacks
Air Canada says the students will be back a week later than expected
A group of Metro Vancouver students is stuck in Senegal for the rest of the week because of flight delays triggered by the terrorist attacks in Brussels.
About 24 Grade 12 students from the Charles Best and Riverside secondary schools should have been heading back to class on Tuesday.
The French immersion students left on March 12 to volunteer in the West African country and were supposed to fly home on March 27.
But their original flight plan included a stopover in Brussels, where the airport is still shut down following terrorist attacks last week.
"They're pretty anxious to get home," said Jackie MacDougall, whose 17-year-old daughter, Beth, is stranded with the group.
"Money's almost null and void and any they do have they're just keeping it for essentials."
Air Canada says it had been working since March 25 to find seats for the group on another airline to an alternate European airport.
The company says it has been able to get them on a flight on March 31 via Istanbul. The students should now arrive home early Saturday.