Regulator proposes changes to air passenger bill of rights, wants Canadians to weigh in

The Canadian Transportation Agency — the quasi-judicial tribunal and regulator tasked with enforcing air passenger rights and compensation rules —  has proposed a new set of air travel compensation rules and wants to hear from Canadians on how they can be improved.

The government's passed legislation last month aimed at closing loopholes that have allowed airlines to avoid compensating customers when flights are delayed or cancelled.

As it stands, regulations state that an airline must compensate a passenger for a flight disruption that is within its control and is not required for safety reasons.

But passengers have accused airlines of skirting those rules and denying them the compensation they're owed. As a result, the CTA has been grappling with a backlog of tens of thousands of complaints.

The complaints backlog now tops 52,000 — roughly triple the number of a year ago. Investigating complaints requires two years per case on average.

The proposed changes to the regulations would require airlines to compensate passengers for any flight disruptions unless they can prove "exceptional circumstances" caused the delay or cancellation.

The CTA wants to hear from Canadians to help define those "exceptional circumstances," said Tom Oommen, the agency's director general of the analysis and outreach branch.

"We've tried to embody principles of clarity and simplicity in the regulations, provisions that are easy to understand," he said. "We are open to whether this is the approach going forward or if there is another approach."

Some of the exceptional circumstances proposed by the agency include weather concerns, airport operational issues and "hidden manufacturing defects" on the airplane.

"It has to be something that is outside the normal operating circumstances of an airline," Oommen said. "A situation where, in spite of the airline doing everything it could, the flight disruption could not have been avoided. That's the test." 

Ian Jack is a spokesperson for the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), a non-profit travel agency. He said he has doubts about how the proposed changes will be enacted. He said the current rules, which came into force in 2019, were also meant to be simple and clear.

"The sausage that came out the end of the regulatory machine the first time through was very lumpy and large," Jack said. "We don't want to see that again."

The CTA is also proposing changes to the regulations on the assistance airlines should offer — such as food and accommodation — when a flight is delayed or cancelled.

Currently, the rules state that an airline must only provide such assistance if a disruption is within its control. The proposed changes would require airlines to offer assistance during any flight disruption — although if it's caused by "exceptional circumstances," assistance would be limited to a currently undefined period of time.

The changes would require airlines to offer more timely information about disruptions. They would limit to just two the number of flights in a row where carriers can cite "knock-on effects" caused by a problem elsewhere — such as inclement weather — as a reason to deny compensation.

Canadians can submit comments online on the CTA website. Consultations close on August 10. The agency said it hopes to have the regulations finalized this winter.

New complaint process coming this fall

The recent budget bill also included provisions aimed at clearing up the current complaint backlog by making the passenger complaint process more efficient.

When a passenger files a complaint under the current rules, an informal dispute resolution process is attempted first. If the airline and passenger can't arrive at a solution, the case then goes to a court-like adjudication process. Binding decisions can only be made at the final adjudication stage.

Under the new process, a mediation stage will have to begin within 30 days of a complaint being filed. If a resolution isn't reached, a binding decision can be issued within 60 days of the start of mediation.

Oommen said this new complaints process will begin on Sept. 30 and will help clear the current backlog.

"There is a plan to get to elimination of the backlog, which is very much our goal. I can't predict right now how long that will take," he said.

Jack said the proof will be in the pudding.

"On paper, this new process absolutely sounds better," the CAA spokesperson said. He pointed to recent passport application backlogs as an example of where government services can fail to deliver for Canadians.

"Hopefully, this [new complaint process] won't fall into that same category, but we don't know that yet and we'll have to wait and see," Jack said.

The CTA said it will be conducting separate consultations on how to improve its complaint process later this year.