Canada Working to Hold Airlines Responsible for Passenger Compensation

The Canadian government is considering a new law that would make airlines responsible for compensating passengers for most major service disruptions.

According to Reuters.com, Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said a rise in delays and cancellations has increased complaints, prompting the government to propose the new legislation.

As part of the proposal, airlines serving Canadian cities that experience major flight disruptions would be required to compensate impacted passengers unless the company can prove the issue was beyond its control, such as snow storms.

“This means there will be no more loopholes where airlines can claim a disruption is caused by something outside of their control or a security reason when it is not,” Alghabra told Reuters.

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

With the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) reporting a record-high number of complaints—more than 44,000—the legislation would call for airlines to pay a fee if the issues are not resolved before being reported to the tribunal.

As for when the possible changes could take effect, Alghabra said travelers could begin seeing them “by the end of summer,” but others would take longer to start enforcing.