Canadian Transportation Agency

A disabled British Columbia man who can't walk and uses a motorized wheelchair for mobility says he was forced to drag himself off an Air Canada flight in Las Vegas after the airline's third-party ground assistance personnel were not available to help him.

From long hours waiting on hold to sleepless nights on airport floors and desperate scrambles to rebook flights and find missing bags, it was a holiday travel season that no one had on their wish list — but that thousands of people got. 

Canada should make it so air travellers are automatically entitled to compensation from airlines when their flights are disrupted, rather than having to make claims on their own, a passenger advocate said on Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

A parliamentary committee voted on Monday, January 9, 2023, to launch a study into the causes behind Canada's chaotic holiday travel season and to hear not only from industry giants, but also from some of the passengers who saw their plans upended. 

The federal government is proposing new rules that would strengthen passengers' right to flight refunds, ensuring reimbursement following cancellations made for reasons outside the airline's control.

Unifor president Jerry Dias says Air Canada continues to promise refunds for passengers whose flights were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hotel operators seeking to take part in Canada's mandatory three-day quarantine for returning travellers can now access the criteria, though it comes as cold comfort to a battered industry.

The Supreme Court of Canada won't hear a case linked to a challenge about air passenger refunds for flights cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal government is directing the Canadian Transportation Agency to strengthen rules that require airlines to refund passengers for cancelled flights.

New federal support for Canada's pandemic-battered airline industry will be contingent on carriers providing refunds to passengers whose flights were cancelled, the government announced on Sunday, November 8, 2020.

Airlines now have to reimburse passengers for flight bumping and damaged luggage as part of a package of new protections that took effect today, July 15, 2019.

Air passengers who are bumped from overbooked flights or forced to sit through long delays could receive up to $2,400 in compensation — cash or something more than a pile of coffee coupons — under proposed regulations for the government's long-promised passenger bill of rights.

Air Transat failed its passengers during a sweltering, hours-long ordeal aboard two of its grounded aircraft this summer, a federal agency ruled on Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, as it fined the airline $295,000 and ordered it to cover the out-of-pocket expenses of affected passengers.

Passengers trapped aboard two Air Transat jets earlier this summer described hours of sweltering heat, a lack of water and the stench of vomit in the cabin as hearings began Wednesday.

Karen McCrimmon said the legislation — Bill C−49 — could become a reality in 2018, and would give consumers a legitimate way to hold airlines accountable in cases of mistreatment.