Calgary athlete's gear still missing after Air Canada flight to compete in Cuba

A Calgary badminton player is still looking for his gear bagseveral weeks after it disappeared somewhere between Calgary and Cuba.

Austin Bauer, 20,says he was forced to compete in the Pan American Badminton Championships using other players' gear.

"I arrived in Havanabut my bag didn't arrive with me. Lots of my competition stuff was in the bag," said Bauer.

"I was told that each of the following days it was going to be arriving and each day it didn't come in."

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Bauer says he paid for a cab to the airport after he says Air Canada finally told him to come pick up the bag.

He says he was forced to wait outside for three hours before being let inside to look for it by airport staff in Havana.

The only thing he left with was a sunburn.

He made it through the competition and placed second, despite the disruption and missing equipment.

"I just don't really know what to do next in terms of talking to Air Canada. I've tried to do everything, calling them and submitting all these forms and everything," said Bauer.

"They could do better supporting their customers and their athletes when they're away competing."

He said he's tweeted, emailed and called over the weeks since his trip, all to no avail.

In a statement Air Canada said: "We received a baggage claim from Austin ... and we're looking to see what exactly happened to his bag. The last data scan shows the bag was loaded on the April27 flight to Havana. We are reviewing the file and will be in touch with him to finalize his claim."

The Trudeau government introduced legislation for a passenger bill of rights Tuesday, in a move that will set a national standard for how airline passengers are treated in Canada.

The goal is to make sure travellers know what they are entitled to expect in terms of service or compensation for a list of issues, including lost or damaged baggage.