CTA Holds Public Consultation on Requests for Temporary Adjustments to the Requirements of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations

December 11, 2020 – Gatineau, QC – Canadian Transportation Agency

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) today launched a consultation to hear from members of the public, consumer groups and other interested stakeholders on requests by airlines for temporary adjustments to certain obligations under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR).

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC), Air Canada and Sunwing Airlines have asked the CTA to temporarily adjust certain compensation and rebooking requirements in the APPR, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CTA is now seeking input on:

• whether airlines should be required to follow APPR requirements to rebook passengers on other airlines during the pandemic;
• whether airlines should have to pay compensation for inconvenience during the pandemic under more limited circumstances, for example:
  • if they told passengers about the disruption less than 3 days in advance (instead of 14 days); and
  • if the passenger's delay was 6 or more hours (instead of 3 or more hours);
• whether airlines should be given more time to respond to requests for compensation for inconvenience filed between July 1, 2020 and September 29, 2020; and
• how long any temporary adjustments to the APPR should be in place, if the CTA decides that any should be made.

More detailed information can be found in the CTA's Consultation Paper.

The CTA will decide whether to grant the requests, using the CTA's powers under section 80 of the Canada Transportation Act. Temporary adjustments may be allowed if the CTA finds it unnecessary, undesirable or impractical for certain APPR requirements to apply for a particular period of time.

The CTA will consider all the information submitted – including in this public consultation – and make its final determination as soon as possible. The determination will be published on the CTA's website.

How to submit input

You can send your written submissions to Consultations-aeriennes.Air-Consultations@otc-cta.gc.ca by January 15, 2021.

Please consult the Consultation Paper.

About the CTA

The Canadian Transportation Agency is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal and regulator that has, with respect to all matters necessary for the exercise of its jurisdiction, all the powers of a superior court. The CTA has three core mandates: helping to keep the national transportation system running efficiently and smoothly, protecting the fundamental right of persons with disabilities to accessible transportation services, and providing consumer protection for air passengers. To help advance these mandates, the CTA makes and enforces ground rules that establish the rights and responsibilities of transportation service providers and users and level the playing field among competitors, resolves disputes using a range of tools from facilitation and mediation to arbitration and adjudication, and ensures that transportation service providers and users are aware of their rights and responsibilities and how the CTA can help them.

Contacts

Media Relations
Canadian Transportation Agency
media@otc-cta.gc.ca
819-934-3448
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