Air Canada planes are shown on the tarmac at Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, Saturday, May 16, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
A court ruling has largely upheld the validity of Canada’s air passenger bill of rights, which was introduced by the Canadian Transportation Agency in 2019.
Here are some of the passenger rights that the CTA regulations protect, and that were upheld by the federal court of appeal Tuesday:
Compensation for delays and cancellations:
Airlines must provide a refund or alternate travel arrangements in the event of a flight cancellation or a delay of three hours or more, even if the disruption is out of the carrier’s control.
Compensation for denial of boarding:
Airlines must provide alternate travel arrangements or a refund to passengers who are denied boarding due to overbooking.
Standards of treatment:
Passengers affected by flight cancellations and lengthy delays must be provided food and drink “in reasonable” quantities and access to a means of communication.
Accommodations:
Passengers required to wait overnight for their original flight or for a flight reserved as part of alternate travel arrangements are entitled to hotel accommodations, paid for by the air carrier, as well as transportation to the hotel and back to the airport.
Assignments of seats to children:
Airlines must facilitate the assignment of a seat to a child under the age of 14 years in close proximity to a parent or guardian, at no additional charge.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2022.
