The son of a 72-year-old Newfoundland woman says someone deserves to be fired over the treatment of his mom at London's Heathrow Airport.

Aaron Butt says his mother was left alone outside the airport terminal in "freezing" conditions on Tuesday night, despite requesting special assistance from Air Canada on her trip from St. John's to Doha, Qatar.

That's absolutely ridiculous. - Aaron Butt

"The serious negligence is with this individual, who dropped her off there," he told CBC Radio's On The Go. "This is one of the coldest days and one of the most miserable weeks in Europe, and to drop her off there and not stay with her … I mean that's absolutely ridiculous."

Butt says his mom was dropped off from a golf cart, and an airport employee told his mother that a bus would come to take her to a hotel. That was after she was told she would not be able to make her connecting flight from London to Doha, and had to stay near the airport overnight.

Butt says his mother was never given anything that indicated to what hotel she was going, and waited at the bus stop alone but the bus never arrived.

He said an airport worker who took her to the bus stop left her alone, despite her protests, saying there were other passengers he needed to transport.

"After about a half an hour I knew," Shirley Butt told CBC Radio's On The Go. "I said 'there's something wrong, there's something wrong here, there's nobody else standing here.'"

"The luggage, I needed it, but at one point in time I said I don't care if ever see that again, I got to get out of the cold."

Shirley Butt was a country singer in the 1970s, and in 1974 she recorded an LP entitled Newfoundland Country. One of the tracks is named "Darling, Are You Ever Coming Home?" (Ted Blades/CBC)

Shirley eventually made it back to the terminal, with her bags, where another airport worker attempted to care for her. This man called Aaron, and Aaron said he attempted to get help from Air Canada, but was unsuccessful.

"He, again, kept trying to find somebody to help and couldn't," Aaron said. "And in the end, he had to say to mom 'Look, there's nothing I can do to help you, so I advise you just to stay here now and wait till this customer service stuff opens up.'"

Aaron said it was 10:30 p.m. at that point, and he doesn't understand why no one from Air Canada could be reached.

I wouldn't like to say what I'd really like to say. - Shirley Butt

"I don't know how, at 10:30, 11 p.m., nobody could be reached in an emergency situation. So there are a number of different issues here that I think need to be explained by Air Canada," he said. "You know, you trust these people."

Butt said Shirley was told by airport staff that she would be brought to a hotel. Later, she was told Air Canada couldn't be contacted to verify which hotel, and that it was best to stay in the terminal overnight until the Air Canada service desk opened.

"Mom said they looked pretty sheepish," Butt said. "She explained everything, and she said all they could say was 'oh my, oh my.'"

Wanting answers

Aaron Butt said he doesn't know the name of the man who left his mother alone, or if he's a direct Air Canada employee. However, he feels that man should be fired.

Butt has written a letter to Air Canada listing his complaints.

His family had requested special assistance and wheelchair use on Shirley's trip to visit her son in Doha, as she had recently had surgery on one of her knees.

"They should have seen her right to the hotel," Butt said.

A spokesperson for the company said that they would be responding directly to Shirley Butt and her family, and did not provide any further comment.

Shirley said her message to Air Canada is "get on the ball."

"That's the politest thing I could say. I wouldn't like to say what I'd really like to say."