Have you ever experienced a cancelled flight? There can be several reasons why this may happen. We’re going to explain your rights as a passenger in three separate scenarios.
First things first
We always recommend booking your flight with a licensed BC travel agent. By doing this you have additional protections in addition to your rights as an air passenger. For example, if your airline went bankrupt, you might be eligible to apply to get your money back from the Travel Assurance Fund.
Flight cancelled? This is what your airline has to do
If your flight is cancelled or delayed, your airline must let you know the reason for the delay, what they are going to do as a solution, and your options for recourse against the airline (including your options with the Canadian Transportation Agency).
Your rights if your flight is cancelled
It all comes down to why your flight was cancelled. Airline obligations for flight disruptions depend on the level of control they have over the situation as set out in the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. Here’s are your air passenger rights according to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).
If your flight is delayed or cancelled and the reason is:
- Within the airline’s control but not safety-related (like overbooking, staffing, etc.), you are entitled to:
- a specific standard of treatment
- compensation
- rebooking or a refund
- Within the airline’s control and required for safety purposes (like an unforeseen event affecting safety), you are entitled to:
- a specific standard of treatment
- rebooking or a refund
- Outside of the airline’s control (natural disasters, medical emergency, political instability, etc.), you are entitled to:
Which airlines do these rules apply to?
These rules apply to all flights flown by any airline to, from and within Canada, including connecting flights.
Where to go if you have a problem
If you experienced a problem related to a cancelled or delayed flight, you should first contact your airline to resolve it. If that doesn’t work, you can file a complaint with the CTA.
Questions?
While we like to share helpful information for consumers on our blog, we have no legal authority when it comes to issues around flight cancellations or delays. The organization to speak to about this is the Canadian Transportation Agency, the regulator responsible for providing consumer protection for air passengers:
- Email: info@otc-cta.gc.ca
- Phone: 1-888-222-2592
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About Consumer Protection BC
We are responsible for regulating specific industries and certain consumer transactions in British Columbia. If your concern is captured under the laws we enforce, we will use the tools at our disposal to assist you. If we can’t help you directly, we will be happy to provide you with as much information as possible. Depending on your concern, another organization may be the ones to speak to; other times, court or legal assistance may be the best option. Explore our website at www.consumerprotectionbc.ca.
I have just booked Canada to Australia with two connectors and have not purchased cancellation insurance. Should I?
Hi Mick, thank you for your question but this is completely up to you! We would not be able to give you advice on whether to buy cancellation insurance or not and what type. Having said that, Canadian Air Transportation Agency has some tips for travellers and they do list having insurance as one. You can read more about it on this page. They have more resources so please do check out their website. I hope this helps!
If you purchased flight tickets with credit card, most likely you have already covered for the cancellation insurance.
Hi ,
My – slightly complex- we booked 3 flights with e dreams for my daughter to get home ; Manchester – Munich – CDG all with Lufthansa , then Air France to Vancouver .
The Lufthansa portion of the journey has been cancelled . We have been calling edreams and to no avail . I said I thought they had a duty of care but they were quite dismissive . All they said they could do was email Lufthansa for me – which I’m worried didn’t happen . I pleaded with the operator – do they or the airline have duty of care to ensure she gets from Manchester UK to Vancouver BC ? Any thoughts / suggestions welcome .
Hi Harriet, sorry to hear about your situation. We have a page on our website that covers a few of your questions. Please take a look here. If your travel agent or the airline is not able to help you out, you may want to contact your credit card provider. All of these options are explained on the page. I hope you will be able to get your daughter home safely. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us by calling our toll-free number, 1-888-564-9963. We answer calls Monday to Friday, 8:30-4:30.
Good Morning:
I used air miles to schedule a flight for an event I was attending on March 14. Unfortunately due to the COVID19 pandemic, the event was cancelled. Air Miles will only credit me the air miles, but I will have to book before the end of the year, and travel before February 21, 2021. Why can’t they return the air miles to my account, and I can use when I decide to travel?
Thank you.
Hi Emilia, thank you for reaching out to us. So you’re aware, we don’t have the ability to communicate with Air Miles on behalf of consumers. I think your best bet in this situation is to continue to try and escalate the issue with Air Miles and try to run the problem up the customer service ladder. They may be sympathetic to your situation and work to resolve the issue with you. I imagine this wasn’t the answer you were looking for, but I hope it’s helpful to you. Best of luck!
Our airline recently announced that the flight we were suppose to take in may can be cancelled and full refund will be offered. However, we booked the tickets through a travel agent and he is telling us that there still a fee he charges. Is this legal or allowed?
Hi Ian, thank you for reaching out to us here. BC businesses are allowed to set their own refund and return policies, so if this business has a policy that says they do not offer refunds, they are allowed to do so. I would suggest looking at the terms and conditions presented by the travel agent to see what their policy states. I imagine this wasn’t the answer you were looking for, but I hope it’s helpful to you.
I belong to a group (39 travellers) in Ontario that booked a package trip through a travel agency in B.C. The trip to Croatia in early June 2020 included air, land, cruise, hotels, some meals, some excursions and transfers. The trip will not be happening due to COVID.
The travel agency will not offer cash refunds, only a future travel voucher for next year (June 2021) and it can only be used for the exact same tour. We have been told that they have already paid all their operators and the money is gone. The are also not willing to issue a voucher that would allow us to use it for travel options they offer to other destinations.
Some members of our group have their own insurance coverage that will likely allow for a refund due to COVID. However, the travel insurance (medical/cancellation combination) the B.C. travel agency sold others does not include coverage for cancellation due to the pandemic.
The travel agency is unwilling to negotiate with us. We also will responsible for any cost increase for this tour next year. Do we have any other legal options? They mention on their website that they belong to a “consumer protection plan” and that our money is “held in a trust account until our travel is complete”. Does this provide any protection for refund? If the travel agency goes bankrupt as a result of the COVID pandemic, do we have any options for recovery of our money?
Any information or further helpful contacts you can provide would be much appreciated.
Hi there, thank you for reaching out to us. Please send us an email at info@consumerprotectionbc.ca or give us a call at 1.888.564.9963 so we can assist you further.
I booked a flight for my fiancé to get home and the airline has cancelled twice. We had to go through another airline to get her home. The original airline is refusing to refund to my card and initially, it tok over a week of back and forth to even get that done. I dealt with three different people in that time and during one of the interactions, was given an answer completely unrelated to my questions.
I have seen gross incompetency with this airline and all they’ve finally issued is credits. I don’t trust them and the credit will never be used.
How can I can my refund?
Hi Ryan, thank you for reaching out to us here. Please note that consumer protection laws don’t speak to vouchers or credits being an appropriate method of refund. However, if any business decides to offer a voucher to a BC consumer, they need to be aware of BC’s prepaid purchase card law that says that prepaid purchase cards, vouchers, gift certificates are not allowed to have expiry dates for a dollar amount.
I have contacted Westjet several times with the details of my claim and they do not respond. This why I wish you could contact them on my behalf. Thanks .
Hi Harold, thanks for your question. I suggest you continue to try and work it out with WestJet – they do have a few different ways of reaching them available on their website. It’s my understanding that there is a bit of a wait to hear back on claims so you may have to wait longer. So, you’re aware, we don’t contact businesses on the behalf of consumers unless the issue is captured under the laws we oversee and under very specific circumstances. I imagine this isn’t the answer you were hoping for, but I hope this helps!