Air Canada, WestJet launch legal battles to overturn orders to compensate passengers for cancelled flights

The fight over compensation claims for cancelled and delayed flights has made its way into the Federal Court of Appeal. 

Air Canada and WestJet have both launched a legal battle to appeal separate Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) rulings where, in each case, the airline was ordered to compensate one or more passengers $1,000 for a cancelled flight caused by a staffing shortage. 

The airlines each allege in court documents that they shouldn’t have to pay, because the CTA — Canada’s transport regulator and a quasi-judicial tribunal — misinterpreted Canada’s compensation regulations. 

Consumer advocate and lawyer John Lawford said if the airlines win their appeals, it could affect other compensation claims for flight disruptions.

“Basically anytime the airline has a staffing shortage of any kind that could be … an event that’s out of their control and therefore all those claims would fail,” said Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). “I think that these appeals … signal that they, the airlines, are very resistant to paying compensation.”

WestJet and Air Canada told CBC News they abide by Canada’s Air Passenger Protections Regulations (APPR). WestJet said it has launched its appeal to ensure the rules are fairly applied. 

“There is no one-size-fits-all crew issue and we believe that’s what the CTA is trying to do, is to make all crew issues the same,” said Andy Gibbons, WestJet’s vice-president of government relations.

WestJet ordered to pay $1,000

Under the APPR, airlines only have to pay compensation — up to $1,000 — if a flight delay or cancellation is within an airline’s control and not required for safety reasons. 

The CTA said it has received more than 16,000 air passenger complaints involving flight disruptions since May. 

The CTA’s rulings on the WestJet and Air Canada cases, which were published this past summer, were supposed to help clear the air on compensation rules for flight disruptions caused by crew shortages.

The agency clarified that staffing problems are considered within the airline’s control and can’t be classified as a safety issue, unless an airline can prove otherwise. 

The WestJet case involved passenger Owen Lareau, whose flight in…