According to the Minister of Transport, the flight cancellations
resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian aviation
industry revealed a "gap" in Canada's Air Passenger
Protection Regulations (the APPRs): carriers were not required to
compensate passengers for cancellations or lengthy delays due to
situations outside of the carrier's control, even when those
external factors made it impossible for the carrier to ensure that
the passenger completed their reservation within a reasonable
time.
Though many passengers impacted by pandemic cancellations received
refunds as a condition of such airlines accessing pandemic relief
funding through the Federal Government's Large Employer
Emergency Financing Facility, new amendments to the APPRs came into
force on September 8, 2022, with a view to permanently close this
gap.
Under the new regulations, where there is a lengthy delay or
cancellation for reasons outside of the carrier's control, the
carrier will be required to provide passengers with a confirmed
reservation on the next available flight offered by the carrier or
one of its partners. If the carrier is unable to rebook the
passenger on a flight that leaves within 48 hours of the scheduled
departure time of the original itinerary, passengers may choose
from the following two potential remedies:
(1) A refund for the unused portion of the passenger's tickets
(including any unused add-on services), to be provided within 30
days using the passenger's original payment method; or
(2) A rebooking of the travel (with comparable levels of service to
the original booking) on the next available flight –
including, for large carriers, flights offered by competitors
– and refunds for unused add-on services and reductions in
level of service.
Limited exceptions permit the carriers to offer alternative refund
methods (e.g., vouchers) that do not expire with the written
informed consent of passengers. For passengers selecting the refund
option who are no longer at their point of origin, a flight back to
the point of origin must also be provided, free of charge, in
addition to the refund.
Like the rest of the APPRs, there are administrative monetary
penalties for non-compliance.
To achieve its goal of "robust yet balanced" passenger
protections, Transport Canada held repeated consultations with
industry representatives, consumer advocates and other stakeholder
groups. It also sought to use the amendments to bring the APPRs
more in line with equivalent legislation in the United States and
European Union, while being tailored to the unique realities of
Canadian aviation. Whether the amendments live up to their promise
of "balance" remains to be seen.
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