New Bill Requires Airlines to Address Passenger Complaints Within 30 Days: Transport Minister

Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra speaks with reporters before appearing as a witness at a House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure, and Communities in Ottawa on Jan. 12, 2023. The committee is looking into the air passenger protection regulations following travel complications over the holiday season. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby)

Under proposed legislation recently introduced by the Liberal government, airlines will be required to address passenger complaints about poor service quality within 30 days of receiving them, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.

The legislation also adds other regulations to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) that the minister says will close “loopholes” for airlines and make more passengers entitled to compensation under certain service conditions, such as having their flights cancelled shortly before departure or when passengers’ luggage is lost by an airline.

Alghabra says the new amendments will make passenger compensation “the default unless specifically cited as a limited exception.”

The amendments were proposed in the House of Commons as part of an omnibus budget bill introduced on April 20 and sponsored by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

Among other items, the bill includes amendments to the Canada Transportation Act that, if passed, will require airlines to “manage passenger complaints” within 30 days of receiving them and will also allow the Governor in Council to require airlines to “publish information respecting their performance” on their website.

The amendments will also “broaden the scope of the administrative monetary penalties scheme” under the Act for airlines that fail to comply with new regulations.

The amendments also seek to “permit the sharing of information to ensure the proper functioning of the national transportation system or to increase its efficiency, while ensuring the confidentiality of that information.”

They will also broaden the CTA’s authority in setting “fees and charges to recover its costs.”

Higher Fines

Alghabra also told reporters in Ottawa on April 24 that the federal government aims to increase the maximum amount of fines the CTA can impose on airlines from $25,000 to $250,000.

“Fines will be higher,” Alghabra said.

“I know there may be some—mostly airlines—who claim that we are unfairly targeting them with these new measures to hold them accountable,” he added. “First, let me be very clear: these measures are not meant to demonize airlines.”

Calls for stricter passenger protection provisions under the APPR ramped up after major travel disruptions over the holiday season saw a large number of Sunwing Airlines customers stranded abroad long past their planned return dates.

Under the current APPR regime, airlines can avoid compensating passengers for issues like flights being cancelled close to departure time by claiming the disruption was caused by factors outside of their control, such as inclement weather.

Alghabra says the new amendments will remove this “loophole” to prevent airlines from falsely claiming such disruption.

“It will no longer be the passenger who will have to prove that he or she is entitled to compensation,” he said. “It will now be the airline that will need to prove that it does not have to pay for it.”