The Canadian House of Commons transportation committee's first emergency meeting regarding travel chaos over the holidays was held on 12JAN 2023, which saw airline executives from Sunwing, WestJet and Air Canada in the hot seat, as well as testimony from federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Airlines placed the blame primarily on the severe winter weather, while Alghabra and other opposition parties pushed for increased protection for pax through strengthened air passenger rights.
Airlines
Sunwing: 7000 Complaints So Far Over "Some Failures in Execution"
The Star reports that Sunwing also came under scrutiny after the airline left pax stranded in Mexico after cancelling flights due to bad weather during the Christmas period then cutting operations from Saskatchewan until early FEB.
As a result, new reports have revealed that Sunwing has received over 7,000 complaints so far.
"We failed to deliver to the level that we had expected, and that Canadians had expected from us over this holiday season," said Sunwing president Len Corrado in his opening statement.
“While many of our customers enjoyed their holidays with minimal disruption, we had some failures in execution, for which we are very, very sorry,” Corrado said.
According to the Star, Corrado listed severe weather, "unexpected staffing challenges" and airport infrastructure issues like de-icing fluid shortages at YVR and a malfunctioning baggage belt system at YYZ as the three main issues behind the operator's holiday struggles. When questioned later in the day, president and CEO of YVR Tamara Vrooman, said the airport had not run out of de-icing fluid at any point during the holidays.
As for cancelling operations out of Saskatchewan, Corrado said Sunwing had applied to hire 63 foreign pilots on a temporary basis, and planned to base them in YQR and YXE. He said the company’s application was rejected in early DEC. When contacted by the Star, a Sunwing representative said the application was denied on 25NOV 2022. As reported by the CBC, Carrado said that Sunwing attempted to shift resources as a result, but that plan wasn't entirely successful.
Conservative transport critic Mark Strahl questioned why Sunwing had sold flights departing from Saskatchewan when it didn't have pilots to fly the planes. "I find it very troubling that you would have booked travel, taken money from Canadians, when you didn't have pilots lined up for the flights that you were selling," Strahl said.
MPs added that while the weather was behind much of the disruption, airlines also share the blame.
“You can’t control the weather, but what you can control is the plans that you have to deal with it, as well as how you communicate with your customers,” said Pam Damoff, a Liberal MP for Oakville North—Burlington, adding that “bad weather is not unique to our Canadian winters.”
WestJet: Worst Weather-Related Disruption in Two Decades
"In my 22 years at WestJet, this was the most significant weather-induced disruption that I have experienced," Scott Wilson, WestJet's vice-president of flight operations, told committee members. According to the CBC, company executives said WestJet cancelled just over 1,600 flights between 16DEC 2022 and 08JAN 2023.
According to the CBC, Andrew Gibbons, WestJet external affairs vice-president, said the airline's CEO texted Alghabra "very early on" in the holiday season — reportedly around 20 or 21DEC 2022 — to let the minister know about anticipated travel issues. Gibbons said later the company was in contact with Transport Canada and Alghabra's office "daily."
Air Canada: Feds Should Re-invest More Taxes and Fees into Airport Infrastructure
In the meeting's opening remarks, Kevin O’Connor, Air Canada’s vice-president of system operations control, defended the airline's performance in the face of extreme winter weather in Vancouver which also affected baggage systems in Toronto, reports the Star.
David Rheault, Air Canada's vice-president of government and community relations, called on the federal government to invest more of the taxes and fees it collects from airlines into industry infrastructure so that it can more effectively deal with weather disruptions, reports the CBC.
"This money should be reinvested into the air transport infrastructure," Rheault told the committee. "We need to move forward with digitization, facility upgrades and other improvements."
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra: "Violation of Rights" of Affected Pax
Following the testimonies from airline executives, federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said a "full examination of what happened" is already underway and that the federal government would take action accordingly, reports CTV News.
"Our government is not hiding. We are going to assume our responsibilities and the industry must assume theirs… We will continue to work together so that this never happens again," he said.
When accused by some MPs of being too slow to be involved, Alghabra responded by saying he was "personally involved" by being informed of the situation and being in contact with the airlines and airports "daily," reports CTV News.
Regarding Sunwing's holiday travel meltdown, Alghabra added that his office reminded the operator of their obligations to customers as per the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, reports the Star. “Sunwing violated those rights,” Alghabra said.
When asked why he didn’t order the Canadian Transport Agency (CTA) to conduct an inquiry into the recent air travel issues, Alghabra said the agency operates as an “arm’s length, quasi-judicial body” and should avoid political interference, reports the Star.
Calls to Strengthen Passenger Rights
Ahead of the meeting, Open Jaw reported on 09JAN that Alghabra said he is looking to strengthen air passenger protection regulations and put the responsibility on airlines, not the dispute function of the CTA, to ensure pax are compensated for delays and cancellations.
As reported by the CBC, Alghabra repeated that statement during his opening address to the committee and said he hopes to reveal more details on changes in the coming months. He also indicated that he is open to looking at other jurisdictions, including the EU, for ways to improve Canada's air pax protections.
"I commit to you that we are learning from the lessons of the last year, and that we are committed to clarifying, and strengthening, and simplifying rules," Alghabra said.
When asked why the CTA has not been directed to step up airline enforcement through monetary fines, Alghabra said he is open to increasing the fines the agency can impose on airlines. The CBC reports that the CTA has only levied 25 fines since regulations took effect in 2019.
Jeff Morrison, president of the National Airlines Council of Canada, told the CBC that other entities, such as airports and navigation service providers, need to be held accountable when disruptions happen. Alghabra said that he is open to strengthening governance rules for entities such as these.
Canadian Transportation Agency: Remove "Grey Areas" for Airlines to Avoid Compensation
The last testimony of the day was the CTA, who says it is currently investigating potential violations of regulatory requirements stemming from the holiday travel chaos. However, the organization is already facing a backlog of more than 33,000 complaints even before the new additions which are likely to come, reports CTV News.
Asked what areas of passenger rights regulations they think could be strengthened, CTA CEO France Pegeot suggested clarifications are needed to remove "grey areas" that allow airlines to get out of compensation by citing issues such as safety.
To Be Continued: More Hearings Expected
As reported by CTV News, further hearings are expected to be scheduled as the House transport committee has also agreed to hear from Via Rail and CN Rail after rail travellers also faced disruptions over the holiday period.
