Air Canada may receive fewer customer complaints than other national carriers and was just recognized with multiple accolades from Skytrax, but Canadian travellers know that when it comes to flying, it's simply a matter of choosing between the lesser of a few evils in a market duopoly.

Passengers have had their fair share of bones to pick with our largest national airline, whether they are to do with delays, safety concerns or baggage woes as bad as having a beloved cat lost by employees during a layover.

And while people have been warning others about what feels like the company's more stringent adherence to carry-on policies recently, one customer says she was subjected to absurdly strict treatment regarding the items she was bringing into the cabin of her overnight flight from Toronto to Paris this month — namely, a set of crutches.

Good. Tired of packing light in a carryon and having to check bag anyway b/c regulations are rarely enforced and baggage holds are full.

— Marg K (@acerbic_comic) June 18, 2023

"[Staff] told me that my crutches counted as a personal item and I was only permitted two on the plane, to which I said there were multiple people with strollers and even extra bags, and if they counted as a personal item, I would check them in instead of a bag. They told [me] that that wasn't a option," Yulia Nyyko, who was boarding in a wheelchair after a recent hip surgery, told blogTO.

Then, the kicker: "They said since there were two crutches, they counted as two separate items, which made no sense to me."

Nyyko says she had no issue going through security in a wheelchair with her personal item (a purse), a carry-on suitcase and her crutches, and it was only during boarding at the gate that Air Canada personnel gave her issues, which started with them telling her she had to check her larger item, which was standard carry-on sized and had medication and valuables inside.

The same desk agent who attempted to get her to gate check her bag came up to her later in the boarding process to tell her she had too many items for medical assistance, and that the way she was holding her luggage (not on her lap but to the side of her wheelchair due to her recent hip replacement) was a safety hazard.

"He continued to refuse checking them in, and told me I could take a later flight. When I asked what that would change, he said I could check them in," she said.

"If I'm being honest, I suspect he didn't really think I needed them, which obviously isn’t the case."

The flight crew also later informed Nyyko that they had never encountered such a problem, and actually have a special closet for crutches and other items.

"Waiting to exit the plane I did see a family leave the plane with a stroller that wasn’t checked in, as well as a gentleman with a cane and multiple personal items so I'm not sure as to why I had been singled out, and am overall shocked at the entire situation."

Toronto woman blasts Air Canada for refusing to store wheelchair on flight https://t.co/IDDhzWEZ5R #Toronto #AirCanada

— blogTO (@blogTO) March 27, 2023

Air Canada did not provide comment on the incident aside from stating that it shouldn't have happened, as crutches are "normally permitted as an exempt carry-on item" per their regulations.

"We are reviewing the circumstances that led to this situation. Beyond that we have no additional information to provide," a representative told blogTO.

The passenger, meanwhile, is still awaiting a resolution, which call centre staff told her will be approximately 25 days.