(Montreal) Travelers’ rights defenders accuse Air Canada of violating federal rules by refusing to pay compensation to passengers whose flights were canceled due to a lack of staff.
Posted at 10:13 a.m.
According to the Canadian Air Passengers Bill of Rights, an airline must provide compensation of up to $1,000 “in the event of delays and cancellations in situations attributable to the carrier, but which are not necessary for reasons of safety” and if the passenger has been informed 14 days or less before the departure time.
But airlines don’t have to pay a penny if the flight is canceled for safety reasons.
In a memo issued Dec. 29, Air Canada instructed its employees to classify flights canceled due to understaffing as a “safety” issue.
This policy is still in effect.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) says reducing understaffing to a safety issue violates federal rules. She states that understaffing attributable to “the action or inaction of the carrier” falls into the category of situations that are attributable to it.
The president of the Travelers Rights press group, Gabor Lukacs, accuses Air Canada of exploiting a loophole in the Charter to avoid paying compensation to its customers.
Air Canada does not share this opinion. She says she did everything she could to prepare for her operational glitches.
Mr. Luckac asks the CTA to be stricter in the application of the Charter.