Wednesday 06APR, a Canadian Federal Court of Appeal heard arguments from Air Canada, Porter Airlines, IATA and over a dozen other air industry stakeholders that Canada’s 2019 new air passenger ‘bill of rights’ should be dropped.
The three-year-old provisions include up to $2400 compensation for being ‘bumped’ off a flight, up to $2100 for lost or damaged luggage, up to $1000 for other delays or cancelled flights, as well as standards of treatment for pax kept waiting ‘on the tarmac’ and during delays.
Airlines launched a legal challenge against those new regulations shortly after they became law in 2019. The carriers claim the passenger rights provisions exceed Canadian Transportation Agency authority and also contravene international standards set for 70 signatory countries, including Canada, in the Montreal Convention.
“The solution cannot be for state parties to individually chip away at the Montreal Convention by adopting piecemeal domestic solutions that depart from the principles accepted by all state parties,” a lawyer for industry stakeholders reportedly told the Court of Appeal hearing the case.
Air industry stakeholders have previously insisted that getting rid of Canada’s air passenger charter “would avoid the confusion to passengers” who encounter different rules in other countries.
They may be fighting a losing battle.
The Federal Court of Appeal already turned down a request from the airlines in 2020 to suspend the passenger bill of rights pending its appeal.
Ottawa continues to defend the regulations, stating, “In the European Union, a regime similar to the regulations has been in force since 2004 and the Court of Justice of the European Union has declared it compatible with the Montreal Convention, despite challenges from the airline industry.”
Furthermore, the attorney general points out, “No regime analogous to the regulations has been invalidated on the ground of incompatibility with the Montreal Convention.”
Meanwhile, consumer and passenger rights’ advocates say the charter doesn’t go far enough, and should actually be expanded.
The appeals hearings are scheduled to continue Thursday, 07APR. It is not known when the Court will issue its ruling on the airline industry’s appeal.
