Passengers stand near flight information panels in Loiu, Spain, on Oct. 9.Vincent West/Reuters
Airlines in Canada must provide meals and hotel rooms for passengers whose flights are disrupted by two hours or more – regardless of the cause of the disruption, according to proposed changes to the rules that govern air travel.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has also proposed that airlines provide refunds where required within 15 days, rather than the current 30, and that carriers can no longer charge extra to seat a child with their parent. Additionally, the regulator has recommended customers are due refunds when their flights are cancelled or delayed by three hours.
The CTA published the planned changes to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations on a government website on Friday, starting a 75-day consultation period.
The rules governing how airlines must treat passengers when a flight is cancelled or delayed were first created in 2019 and amended a few times since. The CTA, which handles air-travel rules and disputes, has been overwhelmed by tens of thousands of complaints.
This has led to widespread dissatisfaction with the system from all sides – airlines, passengers and government.
The new rules would automatically place responsibility for a delay or cancellation on the airline, eliminating three categories of disruption that came with varying degrees of compensation for passengers. The first was if the interruption is within the airline’s control; the second is if it’s within the airline’s control but required for safety; and third, outside the airline’s control. In the latter two cases, passengers have not been entitled to compensation for their inconveniences.
Exceptional circumstances, including a bird strike, labour stoppage or security threat, will still absolve the airline of responsibility to compensate passengers for delays.
However, if a blizzard causes a flight to be cancelled or late by two or more hours, the proposals would require the airline to feed passengers and, if required, provide them with overnight accommodation. The current rules require this treatment only if the disruption is within the airline’s control.
Ian Jack, vice-president of public affairs for the Canadian Automobile Association, said the proposals will make it easier for passengers to navigate the system.
“The changes, while not revolutionary, will make the system clearer and simpler for Canadians in some important ways,” Mr. Jack said. “We call on the government to act quickly to implement these changes – they have already been consulted on to near death.”
An Air Canada AC-T spokesperson said the airline needs more time to review the changes and declined to comment. WestJet Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There are no proposed changes to cash compensation for flight disruptions, which ranges from $125 to $1,000 a passenger, depending on the length of the delay and size of the airline.
The regulator estimates the rules will cost airlines 99 cents per passenger flight. The CTA has proposed raising the fine for airlines that violate the rules to $250,000 from $25,000, in addition to making the carriers bear some of the costs of administering the complaints resolution system.