Half of the air passenger disputes resolved by Canada’s transportation regulator in the past nine months ended in victory for the passengers.
According to a CBC News analysis of newly obtained data, Canadian Transport Agency (CTA) officials ordered airlines to compensate or refund passengers in 50 per cent of the 9,740 cases that were resolved between Sept. 30 and June 30, 2023.
In most of the decisions in favor of passengers (72.6%), the airlines were ordered to pay compensation for flight disruptions. In the remaining decisions, the airlines were required to reimburse passengers for additional expenses or refund the flights.
In both cases, CTA officials issued rulings after the airlines had denied the passengers’ claims and the passengers and airlines had been unable to resolve the issues.
“Half [the passengers] “They were right, they should be paid compensation, and the airline was wrong,” said John Gradek, lecturer and coordinator of the aviation management program at McGill University in Montreal.
He said airlines were “playing around with the rules a little bit.”
The data is available in a new online tool on the CTA’s website. Still, some industry and legal experts have expressed concern because full CTA decisions that were previously available online are now private, meaning most case details, such as the reasons for the decision and the amount of compensation paid, are no longer publicly available.
“The fact that legally binding decisions are essentially taken behind closed doors violates the principle of open justice.” “It’s a very troubling situation,” said Paul Daly, chair of the Department of Administrative Law and Governance at the University of Ottawa.
“I have serious doubts about the constitutionality of this provision.”
Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations came into effect in 2019. Follow the rulesAirlines will have to cover the extra costs of disrupting certain flights. Offer cash refunds for cancelled flightsIf the delay is within the carrier’s control and lasts more than three hours, they will pay up to $1,000.
The CTA resolves disputes between airlines and customers, and a surge in passenger complaints over the past few years has seen the agency’s backlog swell to more than 74,000.
Faster response time
Of the 50% of CTA rulings in favor of passengers, 1,553 cases (32.8%) involved Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada, and 1,443 cases (30%) involved the second-largest airline, WestJet.
Air Canada spokesman Christophe Hembel said fewer than half (39.5%) of the CTA’s decisions involving the airline resulted in an order to pay passengers.
“Air Canada has, in the vast majority of cases, adequately compensated its customers,” Hennebel said in an email.
He added that the CTA recently reduced the time period for airlines to respond to complaints to 14 days, which could mean Air Canada is unable to gather the evidence it needs to support its case.
“Numbers don’t always tell the whole story,” Hennebel said.
WestJet declined to comment.
Details are kept secret
CTA online tools Selected data about the judgment is listed, including the flight number, date, whether the delay was within the airline’s control, and whether the airline was ordered to pay compensation.
“The purpose of releasing this particular information is so other passengers can say, ‘Yes, I was on that flight. Was compensation ordered?'” said Tom Oomen, the CTA’s director of regulatory affairs.
“That’s important information for passengers.”
More than a year after announcing “tough” new rules for airlines trying to avoid paying compensation for flight interruptions, the Canadian government has yet to release a timeline, even as regulators face a record backlog of more than 72,000 air passenger complaints.
By Last year’s law changes To streamline and expedite the CTA’s complaints process; The full decision will only be made public. This can be done if both the passenger and the airline agree, though the CTA said it has not yet had a case where both parties have agreed to make the information public.
The new rules also prohibit passengers from publicly discussing most details of CTA decisions.
CBC News was scheduled to interview WestJet customer Jason Park about how the incident ended, but the day before the interview, Park said the CTA had told him to keep the details secret.
“I’m shocked,” he said. “I can’t understand the level of secrecy behind these decisions.”
Park filed the complaint after WestJet rejected his request for compensation for a flight from Ottawa to San Francisco that was delayed by more than 24 hours in 2022.
Last month, the CTA paid Park compensation, one of the few details he is allowed to discuss. “I’m very happy,” Park said of the outcome.
But he is disappointed that the judgement, detailing all the reasons why the CTA ruled in his favour, remains confidential.
“There’s information there that can be useful to passengers,” he said. “Based on past outcomes, passengers can decide whether or not they want to actually file a complaint.”
“Violation of freedom of expression”
Daly, the law professor, said the full details of the CTA’s decision should be made public and passengers should be given a chance to speak about it.
“Preventing people from speaking out about their cases is an infringement of freedom of expression,” he said. “Even when the bill was before Parliament, I expressed concerns that keeping these decisions secret would be unconstitutional.”
But the CTA’s Ommen said the agency’s new streamlined system is a better service for Canadians, with cases being processed more quickly and basic but relevant information about each judgment being easily available online.
“The law dictates what is confidential and what is not,” he said. “We publish key information about each case on our website.”
