Location: National
Summary of Issue/Background
- The Canadian Transportation Agency’s (CTA) Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) came into force in December 2019. Based on best practices from other jurisdictions, including the European Union and the United States, these regulations provided clearer and more consistent air passenger rights by imposing certain minimum airline requirements in air travel, including standards of treatment and, in some situations, such as delays and cancellations, compensation for passengers, depending whether the situation falls within or outside the air carrier’s control.
- COVID-19 and the subsequent collapse of global air travel have revealed a gap in the protections offered by the APPR: passengers whose flights are delayed for long periods of time or cancelled due to situations outside the carrier's control, such as the federal government’s no-travel orders related to this pandemic, are not protected by being entitled to refunds.
- In the absence of clear refund requirements for these catastrophic situations, refund policies vary from carrier to carrier. This inconsistent treatment of passengers, and the possibility that some could end up entirely out of pocket for disrupted flights, generated considerable attention, and resulted in proposed amendments to the APPR to address the issue of mass cancellations and/or lengthy delays outside a carrier’s control.
- In December 2020, the Minister of Transport issued a Ministerial Direction to provide the CTA with the authority to develop new regulations with respect to passenger refunds in situations outside the carriers’ control.
- On July 2, 2021 proposed amendments to the APPR were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I. The amendments would require carriers to offer a refund to passengers affected by flight cancellations or lengthy delays due to situations outside the carrier's control (or rebook those who do not wish to be refunded), as well as establish refund timing, coverage and method of payment.
- In developing these proposed amendments, the CTA took into consideration the air passenger protection refund regimes of the European Union and the United States.
- The consultation period for the proposed amendments ended October 1, 2021. The CTA is aiming to finalize the regulations by the end of 2021 and they will apply to all future flights to, from, and within Canada once the new requirements come into force.
Messages
- The Air Passenger Protection Regulations provide clear and consistent air passenger rights by imposing certain minimum airline requirements in air travel – including standards of treatment and, in some situations, compensation for passengers.
- The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a gap in Canada's air passenger protection framework. The Government of Canada is committed to addressing the absence of a requirement for airlines to refund tickets for flight cancellations and lengthy delays outside of their control.
- The proposed amendments to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations aim to protect travellers experiencing flight disruptions as a result of reasons outside the airline's control and ensure that they are not left out of pocket if the airline cannot complete an itinerary within a reasonable period of time.