Canada’s Transport Minister has put forward a plan that would see airlines flying to or within Canada pay passengers for major service disruptions.
Presented to the Canada Transportation Act (CTA), the proposed legislation means airlines would have to compensate travellers for disruptions – except in certain circumstances like freak weather events – unless they could prove otherwise, Minister Omar Alghabra said.
“This means there will be no more loopholes where airlines can claim a disruption is caused by something outside of their control or a security reason when it is not,” he said.
“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.”
The news comes as air travel complaints in the country hit record high levels, Reuters reports.
Responsible for enforcing flyer refund rules, the CTA says it has a backlog of over 44,000 complaints – a Canadian record.
“Protecting the rights of air passengers is a priority of the Government of Canada, and the government will continue to ensure that travellers’ rights are respected by airlines when air travel does not go according to plan,” Transport Canada said in a statement.
An airline could also be charged a fee for unresolved complaints that are brought to the CTA.
More transparency please
“It is clear that a stronger and simpler system is needed to increase air carriers’ accountability and transparency, reduce the number of incidents referred to the Agency, and streamline the Agency’s processes for addressing travel complaints,” Alghabra said.
“The proposed amendments would significantly enhance our air passenger rights regime to ensure travellers get the services and treatment they pay for and deserve.”
Part of an overall plan to bolster flyers’ rights and simplify the complaints process, the new changes would also standardise the treatment of passengers in the event of major disruptions, such as ordering the provision of food and water. Requirements around delayed and lost baggage would be announced in the next few weeks.
The minister said some changes could take effect by the end of the northern summer.
According to Reuters, some flyer rights advocates believe the amendments do not go far enough, while airlines warn they could spark higher fares.
While a similar proposal isn’t on the table in Australia (yet), a successful implementation of the move in Canada could have a knock-on effect for countries considering comparable legislation. Watch this space.
