The federal government has announced it will increase the maximum fine that can be levied against airlines for repeated violations of the air passenger bill of rights from $250,000 to $1 million.
Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon announced the changes at a news conference in Ottawa Friday morning, adding that under upcoming legislation, airlines will be required to pay out compensation to passengers within 30 days.
“No excuses,” MacKinnon said.
Canada’s air passenger protection regulations (APPR) came into force in 2019 and require airlines to compensate passengers for delays or cancellations that are within their control.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is tasked with settling disputes between airlines and customers. The agency has been dealing with a large backlog of air passenger complaints, with roughly 100,000 complaints still awaiting resolution, MacKinnon said.
MacKinnon stated that the government is working to eliminate the backlog of airline complaints by “engaging a neutral, third-party dispute resolution organization to apply private sector know-how and lessons learned.”
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“In addition to processing pending claims, we will establish a more effective regulatory framework. This will make the rules clearer so that passengers are compensated fairly and more quickly when their flight does not go as planned. We will also remove the restriction that prevents travellers from speaking freely about decisions made regarding their complaints,” he said.
“Decisions by the Canadian Transportation Agency, which oversees the complaints process, can take years. This is not acceptable. Canadians deserve better. It must be fixed,” MacKinnon said.
The announcement comes after the federal government revealed in its spring economic outlook that it is considering inviting private investment into Canada’s airports.
MacKinnon told reporters on Wednesday that the government was talking with airport authorities regarding whether the government was considering privatizing airports and, if so, how many.
“We’re in the early stages of a process with airport authorities and other partners to determine the best way forward. The ultimate goal, of course, is to improve the passenger experience, to improve the efficiency of our air transport system,” MacKinnon said.
More to come.
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