Canadians who divulge the details of their Canadian Transportation Agency complaint decisions could be fined in the future.
The Canadian Transportation Act last year was amended to state that when an order is handed down from a CTA air travel complaints resolution officer, the agency requires the carrier to make public certain details — the flight number, departure date, the nature of the delay (if applicable) and whether it provided “compensation or a refund” as dictated by their contract terms.
But if asked by the complainant or carrier, the CTA can “decide to keep confidential any part of an order” other than the details listed above, The National Post reports.
Disclosure of other information pertaining to how the matter was settled, unless agreed upon by both parties, is forbidden, the Post said.
“Applicants can discuss publicly the details of their travel journey/experience. What is confidential is the Complaint Resolution Process,” Global News said in a recently published story.
“This includes all of the documents and information associated with the case submitted to the CTA.
“This means that the contents of, or copies of, the applicant’s submission, the airline’s submission, which includes evidence, and the decision itself cannot be made public.”
The federal government was still taking public feedback on proposed CTA rules as of last week. New procedures will have to be approved by federal cabinet ministers, who are studying a variety of potential changes to rules on how airlines operate in Canada.
In December, the CTA issued a report that says Canadian airlines should be required to provide meals to passengers whose flights are delayed at least two hours, along with overnight accommodation if necessary.
Canadian airlines and a major business group have argued that proposed air pax rules are “burdensome” and could lead to higher air fares and reduced service.
