The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has issued fines to Canada’s major airlines for hundreds of violations related to mass flight delays and cancellations last summer and in December.
The violations frequently concern failure to update passengers during flight disruptions or promptly address their compensation claims.
Some passengers and industry experts argue the fines, which typically range between $2,500 and $39,000, aren’t much of a deterrent for misbehaving airlines.
“The fines are low,” said Ian Jack, a spokesperson for the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), a non-profit travel agency. “We have yet to see the regulator really bring out a big stick on anything.”
The CTA, Canada’s transport regulator, is tasked with enforcing federal air passenger protection regulations (APPR).
Since the regulations came into effect in 2019, the agency has been flooded with tens of thousands of complaints that the airlines aren’t playing by the rules.
The CTA doled out the biggest fine — $126,000 — to Sunwing for 36 violations for failing to keep passengers updated during flight delays in December.
That month, a winter storm forced the airline to cancel 67 flights, disrupting plans for thousands of holiday travellers.
After Sunwing cancelled their Dec. 21 return flight, Mohammad Jazayeri and his wife Setareh Sajadi were stuck at their resort in Puerto Vallarta for six extra days.
Jazayeri said the couple spent most of that time waiting for hours in the hotel lobby for word on a rebooked flight.
“The communication was horrible,” said Jazayeri, who lives in North Vancouver, B.C. “It was a nightmare.… We didn’t know what’s going to happen [to] us.”
Desperate to get home, the couple eventually gave up on Sunwing and paid an added $1,544 out-of-pocket for a return flight on another airline.
Following his experience, Jazayeri believes the airline’s fine is not high enough to have any impact.
“This is kind of a joke because $126,000 means nothing,” he said. “I think they should be fined in the amount that they can relive the pain of all the impacted customers.”
$200 per infraction
According to the CTA, Flair Airlines and WestJet committed the most violations related to flight disruptions. WestJet is set to purchase Sunwing in the coming weeks in a merger deal.
Flair was fined $39,000 for 40 violations for failing to provide compensation to passengers for flight delays last summer.