As of 2019, federal rules require airlines to compensate passengers for delayed or canceled flights when those interruptions occur for reasons the airlines themselves can control. From September 8, airlines will have to refund passengers for cancellations and long delays if passengers cannot rebook on another available flight within 48 hours — even when those cancellations or delays are not their fault of the airlines themselves. “It’s a big deal. It’s a win for passengers,” said Tom Oommen, general manager of the analysis and outreach branch at the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), a quasi-judicial court and regulator tasked with enforcing regulations and resolving disputes. between airlines and customers. Air Canada’s check-in area is deserted at Ottawa International Airport amid the COVID-19 pandemic on May 16, 2020. Transport Canada says the pandemic has exposed a gap in existing rules to protect air passengers. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press) Oommen said a loophole in the regulations was revealed when airlines began canceling flights and denying refunds to passengers at the start of the pandemic. He said the expanded rules cover other issues, such as weather delays and labor disputes. But one consumer advocate is less optimistic about the new rules. Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer for the Quebec-based advocacy group Option consommateurs, said the 48-hour window still leaves a loophole for passengers who may be traveling for short periods of time. For example, he said, if a passenger plans to fly on Friday to attend an event on Saturday but the flight is canceled, an airline could rebook the flight on Sunday and not have to refund the ticket. “If [the flight] it’s for a specific event and… you can’t attend, then the flight becomes useless,” De Bellefeuille said. Oommen said the idea behind the 48-hour period is to give airlines some leeway, since the regulations cover flight disruptions beyond their control. “Our regulatory framework sets what I would call a floor, in the sense that every airline has to do these things,” Oommen said, adding that airlines may have their own rules about refunds and re-bookings in these cases.
The airline council says the new rules are singling out the airlines
Jeff Morrison, president of the National Air Lines Council of Canada, said the new rules are unfair because they put the blame squarely on airlines when delays or cancellations are caused by other agencies, such as security, customs or the airport itself. “None of these [entities] will have any liability in the event of an outage,” Morrison said. “These new regulations put everything on the backs of the airlines.” Travelers line up at YVR Airport in Richmond, British Columbia on Monday, August 29, 2022. The National Airlines Council of Canada says some delays and cancellations are caused by other entities, including customs and airport security. (Ben Nelms/CBC) Morrison said he would like to see increased service standards for security, customs and airports in addition to new regulations. A spokesman for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra’s office told CBC that airlines have been consulted on the new rules. “These regulations are in place to protect travelers and hold airlines accountable,” Alghabra’s office said in a separate statement.
Further improvements are needed, the advocate says
Air passenger rights expert Ian Jack said he believed the new rules would only apply in another pandemic-like situation – when air travel is suspended for an extended period of time – or if an airport is closed due to something like a natural disaster or extended labor strike. difference. Jack said he thinks the new regulations are a slight improvement over the current rules, but the CTA needs to take a tougher stance on airlines. “That has to be the focus now to get the machinery of this system working the way it should,” said Jack, a spokesman for the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), a not-for-profit travel agency. The CTA said it has been dealing with a growing backlog of complaints as passengers accuse airlines of unfairly denying them compensation. The government gave the agency $11 million in the April budget to deal with the delays. Oommen said the CTA has improved its dispute resolution process since 2019. But until the backlog is cleared, Jack said, passengers will still be left without the compensation they are owed. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said.
