Matthew Lewis has anointed Air Canada as the "worst airline in North America," claiming that he was kicked out of first class moments before he boarded the flight.
Lewis - who played the beloved character Neville Longbottom in all eight Harry Potter films - took to social media to share his experience with Canada’s biggest airline.
"Confirmed. Air Canada is the worst airline in North America. And that’s saying something," he tweeted on Friday (August 26) to his 1.4 million followers.
The 33-year-old actor alleged in the following tweet that the airline moved him from first class, and then proceeded to rip his ticket up without giving him an explanation other than that the flight was full.
Read Lewis' tweets below:At the time of the incident, Lewis was heading to Toronto to appear at the Fan Expo, where a signed autograph or photo with the Harry Potter star set fans back $70, per The Independent.
In a string of replies to other users on the social media platform, the Me Before You actor revealed that he was booked to fly first class from Orlando to Toronto with the airline.
But, when he got to the first class gate, he claimed that an airline representative dismissed him down to the economy class, citing a "full flight".
The star said in the tweet that staff advised him to go to customer service, but when he asked where it was, they said it was located in Toronto, Canada. He said he was in Orlando, Florida, at the time.
"Said if I wanted to sort it I should go to customer service. I asked where that was. 'Toronto.' I’m in Orlando," he tweeted in a reply to a user.
"Honestly never experienced anything like it. I’ve been bumped before. Comes with the territory," he continued in another tweet. "But at the gate, less than two minutes to boarding and without explanation or apology? Never."
Lewis then wrote that the Canadian airline told him that if he wants to "complain" about the incident or be reimbursed for it, he would have to reach out to them.
Many users on the platform responded to the actor's complaints on Twitter and even shared their own experiences with the airline.
One person wrote: "Flying in Canada just sucks. It’s expensive, unreliable and you’re made to feel like it’s a favor as opposed to a service."
Another said: "Ugh so sorry this happened to you! They are the worst. They refused to take my luggage to London, had to pay $500 cad to get it shipped to Toronto. Still won’t reply to my emails. Good luck, hope you make it!"
A third commented: "Yup. Confirmed. Had a horrible experience of lost luggage that ruined our trip. When you speak to their customer service they try to divert you to other airlines that we connected on and refuse to take ownership. I was loyal for so many years. Disappointed."
The Baby Done actor shared a statement with CTV News Toronto and wrote that the practice of overbooking flights needs to stop.
"Air Canada customer service is s***e," he said. "And we as a society should not be okay with normalizing the profiteering of overbooking flights and kicking people off flights."
He said that a rep for the airline hasn't reached out to him about the matter, however, a member of the airline's social media team did respond to the Harry Potter star's initial tweet, writing: "Hi Matthew, we regret hearing this. Please send us a DM with further details of the issue, we'll see if we can help from here."
Additionally, the airline revealed to CTV News Toronto that the incident is under review, and they cannot comment further at this time.