Major reforms to air passenger rights needed, says House committee report

A parliamentary committee has recommended sweeping changes to Canada's air passenger rights framework, stressing tougher enforcement and compensation rules around flight delays. Tabled Tuesday, the report comes after chaotic travel seasons over the summer and winter holidays brought on by soaring demand, labour shortages and poor weather. Its 21 recommendations include bigger monetary penalties for airlines, smoother processing of compensation claims and automatic payout offers for customers after significant flight disruptions or denial of boarding. It further suggests putting the burden of proof on airlines to show why compensation should not be awarded, and placing the cost of resolving claims to the regulator on the carriers' shoulders. If the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) determines a customer's rights have been violated, all passengers on the same flight should be informed and offered refunds or compensation, the report states. The committee also suggests the federal government consider harmonizing its compensation rules with European regulations even when delays are for safety purposes -- a payout exemption the European Union does not allow, but often relied on by Canadian carriers, advocates say. The passenger complaints backlog at the Canadian Transportation Agency sat just below 45,000 as of Tuesday, more than triple the tally from a year ago. The ballooning backlog means each case now needs more than a year and a half to handle, spurring the committee to recommend a review of the CTA as the enforcer. It pointed to potential complaint agency models such as those for telecommunications, television and banking. Nadine Ramadan, spokeswoman for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, said the government will review the recommendations in the coming weeks.<br/>