New regulations effective
Previously, the passenger rights regime only required refunds for flight disruptions that were within the airline's control, which excluded situations ranging from weather to war to unscheduled mechanical issues.
“These regulations will close the gap in the Canadian air passenger protection regime highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that even when cancellations and lengthy delays occur that are outside the airline’s control passengers will be protected if the airline cannot complete their itinerary within a reasonable period of time," agency chair France Pégeot said in a release.
The regulations match policies implemented by
Thousands of Canadians have faced a slew of long delays and flight cancellations as airlines and security and customs agencies struggle to handle a staffing shortage amid the recent travel surge. The problem is expected to leave summer travellers without protection from the new rules, which don't kick in until fall.
The regulations will require airlines to offer a rebooking or refund within 30 days if they cannot provide a new reservation within 48 hours of a flight cancellation or three-hour-plus delay.
Any unused portion of a ticket must be covered, including "any unused add-on service paid for," the regulator said. And a refund must be the same as the original payment method. That means a credit card purchase could not be reimbursed with a travel voucher, as most Canadian airlines did for nearly a year starting in
"There's an incentive here for the carriers to declare mechanical problems. As a passenger, it's very hard for you to ever verify that," Jack said.
His advocacy group is calling on
He said mandating a refund or a rebooking only if the airline cannot secure another seat on a plane that leaves within two days of the original departure time fails to serve traveller needs in situations ranging from weekend visits to short work trips.
"For a Friday flight, if the flight is cancelled, the airline will be able to offer the passenger an outbound flight for Sunday that the passenger will never be able to take because they work on Monday. And the airline can still pocket the money," Lukacs said in an interview.
"We live in a very fast-paced world. A few hours of delay means you don't get to a funeral, a wedding, a court hearing."
The
In the EU and
The CTA acknowledged the change doesn't align with requirements in the EU or
"(They) may be required to provide multiple refunds at once due to weather-related disruptions," the agency states in its analysis of the regulations' impact.
Airlines argue the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, which came into force in 2019, already go too far.
Canadian carriers asked a
Under the three-year-old federal rules, passengers have to be compensated up to
This report by
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