Overhaul of air passenger rights charter a step backwards: advocate

New rules on treating passengers by airlines Dr. Gábor Lukács, president of Air Passenger Rights discusses federal changes to the rules on how airlines must treat passengers.

An advocacy group says Canada’s proposed overhaul of the federal passenger rights charter not only doesn’t go far enough, it is a step backwards for passenger protection.

Gabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights advocacy group, says the bill will actually weaken passenger rights.

The proposed legislation was unveiled Monday by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra. He touted the bill as one that tightens loopholes, putting the onus on airlines to show a flight disruption is caused by safety concerns or reasons outside their control.

“The minister promises to close that loophole. The minister’s bill actually perpetuates that, and references that terminology in four different places,” Lukacs said.

Currently, a passenger is entitled to between $125 and $1,000 for a three-hour-plus delay or a cancellation made within 14 days of the scheduled departure. The caveat – they are not mandated to pay if the disruption stems from something outside the airline's control, like weather or a safety issue.

Lukacs acknowledges the bill raises the maximum penalty for airline violations to $250,000, which is a tenfold increase.

“By the same stroke of a pen, he's adding a loophole that allows airlines not to pay any penalty at all if they sign a so-called compliance agreement. They just promise to behave going forward, and they walk away scot-free.”

Meantime, the industry group representing four of the country’s biggest carriers denounced the possible nixing of safety concerns as an exception to compensation requirements.

"No airline should be penalized for adhering to the highest standards of safety, whether that is due to weather, mechanical issues or other safety-related constraints," said National Airlines Council of Canada president Jeff Morrison in a statement.

The feds say a list of exceptions around compensation will be outlined by the Canadian Transportation Agency as part of the new legislation.

Meantime, the legislation also calls for airlines to roll out a process to respond to complaints with a decision within 30 days.

The move comes after the Canadian Transportation Safety’s complaints backlog ballooned to about 45,000. Each requires at least 18 months on average to resolve.

Lukacs said it’s rare an airline will end up paying once a complaint is issued because there are currently no meaningful consequences for the airline if it refuses.

“They just create a template email saying, ‘well, we believe that crew shortage or lack of crew members is a safety issue. Therefore we don't pay,’” Lukacs said.

“The passenger’s only realistic option today to get their money then is to take theirs to small claims court, which we strongly recommend passengers do.”

- With files from CTV’s Nicole Dubé and the Canadian Press