Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Changes to air passenger rights in Canada

Do airlines pay hotels for flight delays in Canada?

The Canadian Transportation Agency’s changes to passenger protection rules announced Saturday would require airlines to offer meals and, if needed, overnight accommodations to passengers whose flights are delayed by no less than two hours.

How long does it take for the airline to issue a refund if the flight is delayed or canceled?

Airlines would even be required to issue refunds inside 15 days (up from the present 30-day deadline) if a passenger requests a refund moderately than a rebooking, if their flight is canceled, is delayed by no less than three hours, or in the event that they are faraway from the flight. This time shift must be higher aligned with practices within the United States and the European Union, the federal agency said.

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What happens if there are weather delays?

Ottawa said exceptional circumstances include, but usually are not limited to, security threats, unscheduled airport closures, bird strikes, weather or aircraft damage that would affect flight safety.

Changes to the Canada Transportation Act: Make the foundations clearer and simpler

The Canadian Transportation Agency has been working to alter regulations related to the Canada Transportation Act for the reason that Liberal government passed a law last 12 months geared toward tightening rules on passenger rights.

These reforms require airlines to prove that a flight disruption is attributable to safety concerns or reasons beyond their control.

Previously, Canada’s Passenger Rights Charter, which got here into force in 2019, divided flight disruptions into three categories:

  1. Those attributable to aspects throughout the carrier’s control,
  2. Malfunctions which can be throughout the carrier’s control but are needed for safety reasons,
  3. and people beyond the control of the airline.

Only in the primary of those categories were passengers entitled to compensation. But the federal agency said the categorization system was too complex and led to “various and varied interpretations” by airlines and passengers, particularly when a traveler’s request for compensation was rejected or the rationale for a flight disruption was unclear.

The agency said it had received greater than 150,000 air travel complaints since 2019, a lot of which remained unresolved.

Transport Minister Anita Anand said the proposed changes aim to simplify the foundations for each travelers and airlines. “The proposed changes remove gray areas and ambiguity around when passengers are entitled to compensation, which will ensure quicker solutions for passengers,” she said in an announcement. “We will work to strike the right balance between protecting passengers’ rights and promoting a competitive aviation sector.”

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