Nav Canada Suggests Air Passengers Should Buy Travel Insurance, Use Legislation as Last Resort

An Air Canada aircraft taxis at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, B.C., on Dec. 21, 2022. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

Nav Canada, the country’s civil aviation authority, suggested air passengers should buy travel insurance if they want to be compensated for missed flights and other protections.

In a submission to the Senate transport committee on March 13, Nav Canada said the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) need to “balance consumer interests with the competitiveness of the sector.”

“Passengers need to be actively informed not just on the availability of, but on the risks of not using existing protections (e.g., travel insurance offered at the time of travel purchases, protections offered by different tiers of ticket pricing, etc.),” said Nav Canada.

The not-for-profit corporation, which funds itself based on customer service charges, said the passenger protections “should be a last line of defense, not the first line of recourse.”

The submissions come following promises by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra to implement tougher rules and higher fines against airlines for delayed flights and lost luggage.

As reported by Blacklock’s Reporter on April 17, MPs, senators, and consumer advocacy groups have criticized the current compensation program for taking up to two years to review a claim. The current backlog is greater than 42,000 complaints.

Nav Canada told the Senate that no regulations should be amended further “until such time as the air sector has returned to normalcy and stability.”

“The current pandemic environment and fluctuating economic conditions continue to be a challenge,” said the submission.

According to Nav Canada, increasing the amount of compensation airlines could be fined for missed flights, lost baggage, or cancelled trips “often surpass the cost of a ticket,” which the organization said will hamper efforts to make flights more affordable and increase air service.

Ray Bohn, CEO of NAV Canada, testified at 2021 hearings of the Commons transport committee that air travel may not recover from COVID’s impact for several years.

“We would not see traffic return to 2019 levels until 2023, 2024, but that is likely to be pushed out,” said Bohn.

Legislation

Alghabra committed to revising air passenger compensation regulations in favour of travellers at a March 14 press conference at Toronto Pearson Airport.

He said loopholes were allowing airlines to deny compensation to passengers for cancelled flights by blaming safety issues.

“We are working on major changes to passenger rights to ensure that the burden of proof no longer rests with travellers but with the airline,” he said.

“Obviously we don’t want planes to fly when it’s unsafe to do so. But there are certain things that are within the control of the airlines, and we need to have clearer rules that puts the responsibility on the airlines when it’s their responsibility,” he added. “Travellers have rights, and these rights must be respected by airlines.”

Alghabra said he planned to table proposals regarding changes to the legislation during the spring session of Parliament.

On Jan. 12, he told the transport committee the government was “looking at the issue of fines.”

“Are there additional rules we can make? There is a question about the fines. Should the fines be strengthened?” he said.