Saudi Airlines Sue C.T.A.
The Association of Canadian Travel Agencies (ACTA) provided a brief on the Air Passenger Protection Regulations for the Canadian Transportation Agency, on August 28, 2018. The Transportation Modernization Act, which came into force on May 23, 2018 amends the Canada Transportation Act (Act) to give the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) the authority to make regulations defining airlines' minimum obligations to passengers with respect to:
- the communication of passengers' rights and recourse options,
- flight delays and cancellations,
- denied boarding including bumping,
- tarmac delays of three hours or more,
- lost or damaged baggage,
- the seating of children under the age of 14 years, and,
- the development of terms and conditions of carriage on the transportation of musical instruments.
Click here to read the full submission
Please note that ACTA's CTA Review Committee will be reviewing the latest document and will provide additional feedback, we will continue to keep our members updated new development occurs.
Jason Unrau, Blacklock's Reporter
A Saudi airline is suing the Canadian Transportation Agency for legal costs in scheduling, then canceling a hearing over a $2,500 fine. “The Agency under its current leadership seems to be on a crusade against airlines,” said a lawyer in the case.
“I’m a traveling passenger myself,” said Ehsan Monfared of YYZ Law of Toronto, counsel for Saudi Arabian Airlines Corp. “I’m frustrated by levels of customer service, but some of the stuff the Agency’s doing is crazy.”
The dispute stems from a 2017 ruling in which regulators upheld a complaint by a Saudi passenger, Hanan Hussein of Toronto. Ms. Hussein sought compensation over a one-day delay in a 2016 pre-Christmas flight to Jeddah.
Ms. Hussein was awarded $610 in compensation. Counsel Monfared said the flight was late due to necessary repairs, and that staff tried to accommodate passengers. “Everyone got delayed about 18 hours, so the airline put them up in a hotel,” said Monfared. “Some passengers wanted further compensation.”
Monfared said the airline paid the woman $590.10 in expenses, then an additional $610 in compensation, and was finally issued a $2,500 Notice Of Violation by the Agency. “What’s bizarre is that in winning her complaint, Ms. Hussein was basically double-compensated. If we had appealed that, it would have cost us a bunch of money.”
However, the airline in a Federal Court submission asks that a judge order the Agency to pay its legal expenses for a recently-scheduled hearing that never occurred. Saudi Arabian Airlines sought a review of its $2,500 fine. A hearing was originally scheduled September 19 but then abruptly cancelled, along with the penalty.
The Agency “refused to accept any submissions with respect to costs,” Counsel Monfared wrote the Court. The Agency does not comment on litigation.
Cabinet has given the Agency a deadline by year’s end to finalize Canada’s first passenger rights code under Bill C-49 An Act To Amend The Canada Transportation Act. Parliament passed the bill into law May 22. It requires that the Agency draft and enforce a fee schedule of compensation for passengers that suffer flight delays, denial of boarding or lost or damaged luggage.
The Agency in an October 16 report Air Passenger Protection Regulations Consultations: What We Heard noted other codes in the European Union mandate compensation of up to $900 for flight delays and denial of boarding. American regulations allow for payments of up to US$3,500 for lost or damaged luggage, and US$1,350 for denial of boarding when flights are overbooked.