In Stark v. WestJet Airlines Ltd., 2024 BCCRT 64, the passenger experienced cancellation of her international flight in December 2022. Instead of waiting to be rebooked by the carrier, the passenger quickly requested a refund and rebooked herself onto another carrier. She later filed a CRT claim seeking $2,798.38 CAD for delay compensation pursuant to s. 19(1) of the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150 (the “APPR”), refund of her alternate flight ticket, and reimbursement for hotel expenses. The carrier submitted that the Passenger was limited to recovering a refund of ..read more

In a recent decision, the British Columbia Supreme Court confirmed that a plaintiff must plead a cause of action provided by the Montreal Convention in an action within the applicable limitation period. If a plaintiff fails to plead the Montreal Convention and instead relies on common law or statutory causes of action, he or she may be precluded from amending the claim after the expiry of the applicable limitation period. In Spencer v. Transat A.T. Inc., 2022 BCSC 2256, a proposed class action was commenced against Air Transat and Flair Airlines for a series of alleged flight delays occurring ..read more

The Montreal Convention is an international treaty, which is incorporated into Canadian law by the Carriage by Air Act. It applies to almost all international flights operated by airlines. In a recent decision, the British Columbia Supreme Court confirmed that the Montreal Convention provides the exclusive recourse to passengers claiming damages for matters falling within its scope. In Spencer v. Transat A.T. Inc et al, 2022 BCSC 145, the Plaintiff brought a proposed class proceeding against Air Transat A.T. Inc., Transat Tours Canada Inc., Transat A.T. Inc., and Flair Airlines for damages all ..read more

In Canada (Transportation Safety Board) v. Carroll-Byrne, 2021 NSCA, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed a lower court’s decision to authorize the release and use of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) in a class action. The Supreme Court of Canada heard the appeal on March 17, 2022 and reserved its judgment. On March 29, 2015, an Airbus A320 aircraft, operated as Air Canada Flight 624, landed short of the runway at Halifax Stanfield International Airport in the midst of winter snowstorm conditions. The aircraft landing gear was damaged and the aircraft skidded along the runway b ..read more

On March 1, 2019, Mr. and Mrs. Olak (the “Passengers”) travelled on an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Delhi, India.  Upon their arrival in India, the Passengers’ checked bags were missing.  The Passengers sued the airline in the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal (“CRT”) and sought damages to compensate them for clothing and other necessities that they were forced to purchase because their bags were delayed.  The Passengers also sought “non-material damages”. The Passengers, who were travelling with a total of four checked bags, arrived in Delhi on March 2, 2019.  They alleg ..read more

On December 18, 2020, the Minister of Transport directed the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to draft regulations requiring air carriers to provide refunds in certain situations outside of their control (such as weather, COVID-19 in certain situations, medical emergency, security threat, and war or political instability). According to the Minister, the objective of the directive was to fill a gap in the legislation. After a series of consultations, the CTA published their proposed amendments to the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). The current regime requires carriers to provid ..read more

The Director General of Civil Aviation for Transport Canada recently approved various temporary exemptions to an owner and operator of an aircraft with Canadian Registration Mark “HOHO-HO”. The owner of the aircraft, a certain Mr. Claus, is temporarily allowed to operate a certain “Reindeer Powered Aeroplane” in a manner that does not comply with various provisions of the Canadian Aviation Regulations. Of note, the aircraft may be operated at supersonic speeds, take-off without weight limitations, and operate in built-up areas of cities and towns without complying with standard take-off, appro ..read more

The Federal Court of Canada recently denied an application to certify a proposed class action against SATA Internacional for claims of compensation for delayed flights. In Berenguer v. SATA Internacional, the Plaintiff was an Alberta resident and the Defendant a Portuguese commercial airline, which operates scheduled flights to and from Canadian cities. The claim related to the alleged failure of SATA to pay compensation in accordance with European Union Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 (“EU261”). EU261 is a consumer protection regulation which sets out requirements for providing compensation and ..read more

On August 13, 2021, Transport Canada’s Minister, Omar Alghabra, announced that all passengers on commercial flights in Canada will need to prove that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 before being permitted to travel by air.  The Treasury Board of Canada also announced the intention of the Government of Canada to require vaccinations of all employees in federally regulated travel sectors.  These requirements are scheduled to come into effect as early as the end of September and no later than the end of October 2021. The details of these new policies have yet to be announced ..read more

On January 8, 2020, a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, operated as Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 (“Flight 752”), was shot down shortly after taking off from Tehran International Airport.  All 167 passengers and nine crew members onboard were killed, including 55 Canadians. Under Annex 13 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, Iran was responsible for instituting and conducting the investigation into the circumstances of the accident.  As a result, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau of the Islamic Republic of Iran (“AAIB”) conducted the investigation.  As ..read more