Travel rights advocates accuse Air Canada of violating federal rules by refusing to pay compensation to passengers whose flights were canceled due to a lack of company staff.

According to Canadian air passenger rights legislation, the airline must provide compensation of up to $1,000 "in cases of delays and cancellations attributed to the carrier (the airline) which are not necessary for safety reasons" if the passenger is informed 14 days or less before the flight.

However, airlines are not required to pay a single cent if the flight is canceled for passenger safety reasons.

In a memo delivered on December 29, Air Canada asked its employees to classify canceled flights due to staff shortages as a "safety" issue. Accordingly, affected customers have the right to accommodation and food standards, but are not entitled to the compensation stipulated in the charter, according to the memo.

According to this memo, this policy was supposed to be "temporary." However, Air Canada admitted in an email sent on July 25 that the memo "remains in effect due to ongoing circumstances arising from COVID-19 variants."

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA - OTC) says that considering staff shortages as a safety issue is a violation of federal rules.

This federal agency adds that staff shortages due to "carrier (airline) action or negligence" fall into the category of cases attributed to the carrier.

A fault caused by staff shortages cannot be considered related to safety reasons if this shortage is the result of actions taken by the company.
 

In a decision published on July 8, the Canadian Transportation Agency used similar language in reminding WestJet of its duties, noting that the airline must ensure "sufficient staff availability to provide the services offered for sale."

WestJet, the second largest Canadian airline after Air Canada, attempted to defend itself by acknowledging that the cancellation was attributable to it but was necessary out of concern for passenger safety.
 

Air passenger rights expert Gabor Lukacs blames Air Canada, accusing it of exploiting a gap in the Canadian passenger rights charter to avoid paying compensation to its customers, and called on the Transportation Agency to be stricter in enforcing the charter.
 

Customers can appeal a decision issued by an airline by filing a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency. However, the agency must investigate a large number of cases. In May, it had 15,300 files related to airlines awaiting processing.

Lukacs points out that in European Union countries, airlines cannot invoke safety reasons to avoid paying compensation to passengers if the company cancels a flight. Only "extraordinary circumstances," such as bad weather or political instability, can exempt airlines from mandatory compensation payments.