Changes To Canada's Air Passenger Rights Could Make It Easier For Travellers To Get Refunds

With many travellers citing issues receiving compensation for flight cancellations and delays among Canadian airlines, Canada's minister of transport has announced new measures that would make it easier for passengers to be compensated.

On April 24, Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra laid out planned changes to the Canada Transportation Act that would strengthen air passenger rights and simplify the process for getting traveller complaints resolved.

In a press conference, the minister announced that the proposed changes have been introduced as part of Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act.

The amendments would improve upon the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) that were introduced in 2019.

Under the APPR, what passengers are entitled to when their flight is cancelled or delayed varies under different circumstances.

Generally, there are three different kinds of situations, each warranting a different outcome in terms of compensation. The delay or cancellation could be within the airline's control, within the airline's control but required for safety, or outside the airline's control.

Currently, compensation for flight delays and cancellations is only required when the issue is caused by the airline and isn't a safety issue.

Under the new proposed changes, in addition to being entitled to a refund, most air passengers will also be entitled to financial compensation, Algahbra said.

He said that the change would combine the current three categories into a single category where "everyone would be entitled to compensation except for a clear list of exceptions."

The minister clarified that the exceptions will be established during the consultation process, but would include situations like a snowstorm, for example.

"This means there will be no more loopholes where airlines can claim a disruption is caused by something outside of their control for a security reason when it's not, and it will no longer be the passenger who will have to prove that he or she is entitled to compensation," he said.

Other proposed changes announced on Monday include:

• making standards of treatment (like the provision of food and water to travellers) mandatory for all flight delays, cancellations and disruptions
• establishing requirements for delayed baggage and laying out rules around refund requirements when they are a result of a travel advisory issued by the Government of Canada
• replacing the current process for resolving air travel complaints with a simpler process, which would help to ensure that travellers get quicker decisions.

"When a passenger purchases a ticket, that is a transaction between a passenger and the airline. So it is the airline's responsibility to make sure they uphold their obligations to their customers," Alghabra said in his closing remarks.

The new regulations are expected to come into effect at the "earliest opportunity."

The news comes as travellers have called out Canadian airlines for seeming to find ways around taking accountability for delays and cancellations.

A recent Instagram post by Air Canada saw its comments flooded by disgruntled passengers, many of whom blasted the airline for not compensating passengers and losing travellers' luggage.