Canadians attempting to travel during the holidays this week have faced a number of challenges getting to their destinations, thanks to the arrival of intense winter storms.
Major Canadian airlines cancelled hundreds of flights across the country Thursday, Friday and Saturday amid freezing rain, blowing snow and strong winds.
In response to the storms, Air Canada announced on Thursday it would implement “goodwill refund policy” that allows customers to request a refund or travel voucher if they purchased a ticket no later than Dec. 21 for travel to or from a Canadian airport between Dec. 22 and Dec. 26.
“If you’re scheduled to travel during the affected period, you can retrieve your booking to request a refund up to two hours before departure, free of charge on your Air Canada flight,” a statement on the airline’s website reads.
Outside of goodwill gestures, many Canadians are left to wonder what their rights are in such situations. In Canada, air passengers can be compensated for flight delays and cancellations under the Canadian Transportation Agency's Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). APPR regulations can be tough to parse out, warns Gabor Lukacs, an advocate for Canadian air passengers and the president of the non-profit Air Passenger Rights.
This month, Air Passenger Rights submitted a report to the House of Commons recommending an overhaul of the APPR, including by simplifying the language and definitions within the regulations.
"The terminology itself is creating a lot of confusion," Lukacs told CTVNews.ca during a telephone interview on Friday, adding that the APPR is "extremely complicated."
To make it less complicated, CTVNews.ca breaks down what rights passengers have when a flight is delayed or cancelled, including due to bad weather.
Sometimes, as is the case for many Canadian travellers this week, a flight is cancelled or delayed for reasons outside airlines' control. Those reasons can include weather conditions, war or political instability, instructions from air traffic control, medical emergencies, a security threat and other factors.
In the case of a cancellation, denial of boarding or delay of three hours or more, airlines must provide passengers with alternate travel arrangements or a refund. If passengers opt for alternative travel arrangements, airlines must provide a seat on their next available flight or one operated by an airline with which they have a commercial agreement, within 48 hours of the original departure time.
"If [the airline is] unable to deliver the passenger on its own network within 48 hours of the original departure time, then, in the case of large carriers like Air Canada, WestJet and Swoop, there's requirements under the law to buy the passenger tickets at another airline," Lukacs said.
If the cause of the cancellation, delay or denial of boarding is outside an airline's control, the airline is not legally obligated to cover the cost of food or lodging for affected passengers, nor offer any financial compensation.
Lukacs said passengers have more options for compensation when flights are cancelled or delayed for reasons within airlines' control.
In the case of a cancellation or a delay of two hours or more, if passengers are informed less than 12 hours before their departure time, airlines have to provide food and drink in "reasonable quantities" as well as a means of communication. Passengers who are denied boarding are entitled to these rights immediately. If passengers have to wait overnight for their flight, airlines have to offer hotel or other comparable accommodation free of charge, as well as free transportation to the accommodation.
Airlines must also provide alternate travel arrangements or refunds in the event of a cancellation or a delay of three hours or more. If the cause of the disruption is within their control, though, they have less time – nine hours – to arrange alternate travel within their own network before they're required to book on another airline's flight.
"If a flight is cancelled due to crew shortage, which is within the carrier's control, then they have to rebook you on flights of other airlines if they cannot rebook you on their own network within nine hours," Lukacs explained.
Passengers informed of a cancellation or delay 14 days or less before their departure time, or who are denied boarding, are also entitled to Air Canada flight delay compensation up to $1,000. The amount of compensation given depends on circumstances such as the length of the delay and the size of the airline.
Sometimes bad weather or air traffic issues will ground a plane on the tarmac with everyone on board for hours before takeoff or after landing. Whether they're in the terminal or stuck on the tarmac, passengers are entitled to the same rights outlined above in the event of a delay or cancellation.
The airline also needs to provide passengers stuck on the tarmac with access to toilets, proper ventilation and cooling, the means to communicate with people outside the plane where feasible and food and drink, "in reasonable quantities," taking into account the length of the delay.
Once a flight has sat on a tarmac for three hours, airlines are legally obligated to let passengers disembark. The exception is that if takeoff is imminent, that window of time can be extended by an additional 45 minutes.