Proposed air passenger rights changes get mixed reviews from airlines, advocates
Global News
Airlines denounced the government's proposed changes that put more onus on providers, while passenger advocates doubted all loopholes will be closed as claimed.
Airlines say it goes too far. Advocates say not far enough.
The proposed overhaul of Canada’s passenger rights charter earned mixed reviews Monday after Transport Minister Omar Alghabra laid out measures to tighten loopholes to traveller compensation and toughen penalties.
If passed, the reforms will put the onus on airlines to show a flight disruption is caused by safety concerns or reasons outside their control, with specific examples to be drawn up by the Canadian Transportation Agency as a list of exceptions around compensation.
“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,” Alghabra told reporters in Ottawa.
“And it will no longer be the passenger who will have to prove that he or she is entitled to compensation. It will now be the airline that will need to prove that it does not have to pay for it.”
Currently, a passenger is entitled to between $125 and $1,000 in compensation for a three-hour-plus delay or a cancellation made within 14 days of the scheduled departure — unless the disruption stems from events outside the airline’s control, such as weather or a safety issue such as mechanical problems. The amount varies depending on the size of the carrier and length of the delay.
The National Airlines Council of Canada, an industry group representing four of the country’s biggest carriers, denounced the potential scrapping of safety concerns as an exception to compensation requirements.
“No airline should be penalized for adhering to the highest standards of safety, whether that is due to weather, mechanical issues or other safety-related constraints,” said council president Jeff Morrison in a statement.
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