Toronto –
Aviation experts say proposed changes to Canada’s Passenger Charter of Rights would perpetuate a loophole that allows airlines to avoid compensating travelers whose flights are interrupted.
The City of Ottawa is designating certain factors outside of an airline’s control, such as weather, that may affect flight safety as “exceptional circumstances,” which could result in a flight being delayed or cancelled. It proposes to update the rules regarding airline obligations.
Under the revised rules, airlines are still not required to provide compensation for passenger inconvenience in situations involving these factors, with some exceptions.
But Air Passenger Advocacy President Gabor Lukacs said the weekend announcement of the proposal was “deceptive” and that Transport Canada was actually “maintaining the status quo.”
He said about half of flight delays and more than two-thirds of cancellations would still not be covered under the newly outlined rules, which now have a 75-day feedback period.
Canada’s Passenger Charter of Rights, which came into force in 2019, previously provides for disruptions caused by factors within the airline’s control, disruptions caused by factors within the airline’s control but necessary for safety, and disruptions outside the airline’s control. The confusion was classified into three categories.
Passengers were entitled to compensation only in the first of these categories.
Lukacs said the government’s revised regulations only gave new names to the latter two categories. He called it “semantics.”
He said: “They are simply renaming the two categories to say that cases where there is no compensation obligation are ‘exceptional circumstances’.”
John Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University, said the changes appear to do little to solidify when airlines will have to pay.
“Now they call it an exceptional situation, but now we will be discussing how to define an exceptional situation. Jumping to another nebulous issue,” Gradek said.
“That doesn’t solve the problem.”
He said he would like to see regulators move to the model adopted in the EU, which imposes higher burdens on airlines and provides exemptions in the most unusual cases.
In announcing the proposed changes, Transport Minister Anita Anand said the goal was to provide clearer information for both travelers and airlines.
“The proposed amendments will eliminate the gray area and ambiguity around when passengers are liable for compensation and ensure a faster resolution for passengers,” he said in a statement.
He said the regulations aim to find a balance between protecting passenger rights and promoting a competitive aviation sector.
A traveler goes through security at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, on September 18, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
Transport Canada has been working on amending regulations related to the Transport Canada Act since the Liberal government passed legislation last year aimed at tightening rules for passenger rights.
The changes are expected to close a loophole that allowed airlines to refuse to compensate customers if flights had to be delayed or canceled for safety reasons.
The reforms also require airlines to show that disruptions were caused by safety concerns or reasons beyond their control.
Draft regulations published on Saturday will require airlines to provide meals and, if necessary, accommodation to passengers whose flights are delayed by at least two hours, even in exceptional circumstances. .
Ottawa said these factors include safety threats, unscheduled airport closures, bird strikes and damage to aircraft that could affect flight safety.
Gradek said the requirement to assist passengers in the event of a delay of more than two hours provides some clarity, but is a fairly small adjustment.
“They’re taking what I call baby steps to clean up this act.”
The proposed amendments require airlines to rebook the next available flight or flight on a partner airline under any circumstances if a flight is canceled or a passenger is involved in a collision. .
Airlines are also obliged to rebook passengers on the same itinerary who miss, or are likely to miss, a connecting flight due to an earlier flight disruption.
Airlines have 15 days instead of the current deadline of 30 days for passengers to request a refund rather than rebook if their flight is canceled, delayed by at least three hours, or removed from the flight. You need to make a refund.
The schedule change is intended to be more consistent with U.S. and European Union practices, federal officials said.
However, Lukacs said those regions actually require carriers to issue refunds within seven days.
“Somehow, miraculously, the airlines managed to convince the government that north of the border, reindeer cannot deliver refunds within seven days,” he said.
“Maybe the refund will come in a horse-drawn carriage or something.”
When asked why the proposed regulations do not seek to bring them more in line with standards in other regions, Transport Canada said they are draft recommendations and is seeking feedback.
“This is not a final regulation,” Tom Oommen, director of CTA’s Office of Analysis and Outreach, said in a media briefing.
“This is for consultation and, of course, the comments received during the consultation will be taken into account in the development of the final regulations.”
He said the proposed changes had been developed in consultation with the Minister of Transport and he hoped to receive healthy feedback on the proposals from all stakeholders.
The regulations include fines of up to $250,000 for airline violations, 10 times the current penalties.
The federal agency said it estimates the proposed changes would cost airlines about 99 cents per passenger flight per year, or about $512 million over the 10 years after they go into effect.
While the various changes could mean increased compensation for passengers, the rules overall appear to do little to contribute to the larger goal of actually improving airlines’ on-time performance, Gradek said. Ta.
He noted that the latest performance indicators for November show just how miserable Canada’s airlines and airports are in terms of being on time.
“The purpose[of the regulations]was to make it better. Unfortunately, experience shows that it hasn’t done much. In fact, it’s made things worse.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2024.
