Canada wants airlines to pay passengers for major flight disruptions

Airlines flying to or within Canada may have to pay passengers when a major service disruption occurs. Photo / 123rf

Airlines flying to or within Canada may have to pay passengers when a major service disruption occurs.

At least, this is the proposal Canada’s Transport Minister, Omar Alghabra, has put forward.

The proposed legislation, which would sit within the Canada Transportation Act (CTA), would mean airlines are required to offer compensation to travellers for disruptions, Alghabra said.

There would be some expectations, including extreme weather events or if the airline could prove it was not responsible for the disruption.

“This means there will be no more loopholes where airlines can claim a disruption is caused by something outside of their control or a security reason when it is not,” he said.

“It will no longer be the passenger who will have to prove that he or she is entitled to compensation. It will now be the airline that will need to prove that it does not have to pay for it.”

The announcement is timely, with Reuters reporting record high numbers of air travel complaints in Canada.

The CTA, which is responsible for enforcing refund rules for flyers, claims there are more than 44,000 complaints waiting to be delt with, a new record.

“Protecting the rights of air passengers is a priority of the Government of Canada, and the government will continue to ensure that travellers’ rights are respected by airlines when air travel does not go according to plan,” said Transport Canada in a statement.

Here’s what you need to know about our new Air Passenger Rights.⬇️ pic.twitter.com/EsaLbkvFdx

— Omar Alghabra (@OmarAlghabra) April 26, 2023

Airlines could also be charged fees if the CTA receives unresolved complaints by flyers.

“It is clear that a stronger and simpler system is needed to increase air carriers’ accountability and transparency, reduce the number of incidents referred to the Agency, and streamline the Agency’s processes for addressing travel complaints,” Alghabra said.

“The proposed amendments would significantly enhance our air passenger rights regime to ensure travellers get the services and treatment they pay for and deserve.”

Changes could take place as soon as the end of August, he added.

If the proposal does go ahead, it will help standardise how passengers are treated when major disruptions occur, rather than each airline setting its own rules when it comes to providing compensation, accommodation or food.

Similar rules regarding lost luggage will also be proposed in the coming weeks; news travellers around the world will be thrilled to hear.

If compensation rules in the event of a disruption sound familiar to Kiwi travellers, it is. In New Zealand, our version of the legislation is the Civil Aviation Act (CAA), which states passengers are entitled to compensation of up to 10 times the cost of the ticket, or the actual cost of delay, whichever is lower.

Similar to Canada’s proposal, the delay cannot be related to an extreme weather event or something the airline could prove was outside it’s control, such as a Government border announcement. In the case of bad weather, there are some key steps travellers can take if their flight is delayed or cancelled.