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MONTREAL – In a victory for air travelers, the Supreme Court of Canada has upheld rules that promote compensation for passengers subject to delays and damaged baggage on international flights.
On Friday, the country’s highest court unanimously rejected an appeal by a group of airlines that challenged Canada’s passenger rights charter. Air Canada, Porter Airlines Inc. and 16 foreign appellants have argued that the Air Passenger Protection Regulations launched in 2019 breach global standards and should be made invalid for journeys into and out of the country.
The legal challenge, which began that year, said that by imposing higher compensation requirements for lost baggage and delayed or canceled overseas flights, the regulations exceeded the Canadian Transport Agency’s authority and violated international rules known as the Convention Montreal.
In December 2022, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the carriers’ case with the exception of one regulation that applies to the temporary loss of baggage.
The Canadian Transport Agency and the Attorney General argued that there is no conflict between passenger protections and the Montreal Convention, a multilateral agreement Canada signed in 2001.
On Friday, the Supreme Court effectively agreed, stating in a decision written by Justice Malcolm Rowe that the regulations “do not conflict with the Montreal Convention.”
“In signing the convention and the ‘protective reconciliation’ between the interests of passengers and carriers that prompted it, there is no indication that Canada (or any other state party) has agreed to give up its ability to provide for minimum standards of treatment for travelers within his jurisdiction,” Rowe wrote.
In an emailed statement, Transport Minister Anita Anand said the top court had “ruled in favor of passengers and our view that passengers need to be protected.”
Jeff Morrison, president and CEO of the National Council of Airlines Canada, said the group was “disappointed” by the court’s decision but that carriers would continue to work with industry players and the government to minimize travel disruptions.
Under the federal rules, passengers must be compensated up to $2,400 if they were denied boarding because a trip was overbooked – what’s known as a flight bump. Flights that are canceled or significantly delayed for reasons within the airline’s control – scheduling problems, for example, but not bad weather – are guaranteed compensation of up to $1,000. Passengers can receive up to about $2,300 for lost or damaged luggage, although the exact amount varies based on exchange rates.
The airlines’ argument that the regulations contravened the Montreal Convention hinged on that treaty’s “principle of exclusivity”. The convention states that any “action for damages” – a lawsuit seeking financial compensation, for example – relating to an international flight is subject only to the terms of the agreement, rather than any other set of rules.
However, the court found that although steps for compensation are pursued on a case-by-case basis, Canada’s passenger rights charter sets out a general approach and therefore falls outside the Montreal Convention.
“The regulations do not provide for an ‘action for damages’ because they do not provide for individual damages; rather, they create a consumer protection scheme that operates alongside the Montreal Convention,” Rowe wrote.
“Accordingly, they do not fall within the scope of the exclusivity principle of the Montreal Convention.”
The appellants included the three largest airlines in the United States, leading carriers such as British Airways and Air France and the International Air Transport Association, which counts WestJet, Air Transat and around 290 other airlines as members.
Since the rules came into force five years ago, the government has taken further steps to tighten them, a move prompted by scenes of airport chaos, endless security lines and overflowing baggage halls in 2022 during a surge in air travel after related to COVID-19. shut down
In 2023, Liberal legislation targeted loopholes that have allowed airlines to avoid paying compensation to customers and worked to establish a simpler complaints resolution system.
The new provisions also sought to raise penalties by a maximum fine of $250,000 for airline violations – a tenfold increase over existing regulations – in an effort to encourage compliance.
Another amendment — both yet to come into effect — would place the regulatory cost of complaints on the shoulders of carriers. The measure would cost airlines $790 per complaint – a total of millions of dollars a year – under a recent proposal from the regulator which seeks to encourage them to improve their service and thereby reduce the number of complaints against them.
Meanwhile, the backlog of complaints from the country’s transport regulator continues to grow, at around 78,000 as of last month.
Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a Quebec lawyer with the advocacy group Option consommateurs, called the ruling “very good” for travelers.
“It confirms the Canadian government’s power to provide regulations aimed at protecting travelers,” he said, adding that the decision is in line with others handed down by European courts.
Air Passenger Rights president Gabor Lukacs, an intervener in the case, said the Supreme Court ruling “breathes new life” into the movement to overhaul the passenger protection regime.
However, the current regulations do not meet the European Union’s “gold standard of passenger protection”, calling for reforms that reflect EU rules. He and others also said that the government has been dragging its feet on implementing the promised changes.
“It’s been over a year since the government promised changes to make the system better,” said Canadian Automobile Association spokesman Ian Jack.
“We need to see those now, so the system is not just legal, it actually works for Canadians.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on October 4, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:AC, TSX:TRZ)
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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