Flight delays and cancellations: rebooking, refunds and compensation

The airline must always ensure that you can complete your itinerary as soon as possible.

What the airline must offer depends on the size of the airline and the level of control the airline has over the delay or cancellation.

Airline size

Airline size is based on the number of passengers an airline carries, worldwide, over the past 2 calendar years. Large Canadian airlines are Air Canada (including Jazz and Rouge), WestJet, Sunwing Airlines, Air Transat, Porter and Flair Airlines. All other Canadian airlines are small.

Airline levels of control

Within the airline’s control

Includes scheduled maintenance, choice of aircraft and staffing schedules.

You may be entitled to:

assistance
rebooking
refunds
compensation

Within the airline’s control but required for safety

Includes unplanned events that the airline can control but may pose a safety risk.

You may be entitled to:

assistance
rebooking
refunds

Outside the airline’s control

Includes extreme weather, emergencies, security, labour or airport issues, government-issued travel bans and more.

You may be entitled to:

rebooking
refunds

Rebooking — to continue your travel

Situation	Large airlines	Small airlines
Within the airline’s control (including for safety)	Large airlines must rebook you, free of charge: from your original airport on their next available flight or the next available flight on an airline that they have a commercial agreement from your original airport on the earlier flight of any other airline if they cannot rebook you within 9 hours of your original departure time on a flight leaving from another airport, if there is one nearby, if they cannot rebook you within 48 hours of the original departure time	Small airlines must rebook you, free of charge: from your original airport on their next available flight or on the flight of an airline with which they have a commercial agreement that departs from the same airport.
Outside the airline’s control	Large airlines must rebook you, free of charge: on their next available flight or on the next available flight of an airline with which they have a commercial agreement with from your original airport within 48 hours after the departure time on your original ticket, or on a flight leaving another airport, if there is an option nearby, if they cannot book you on a flight leaving within 48 hours at the original airport	Small airlines must rebook you, free of charge: on their next available flight, or on the flight of an airline with which they have a commercial agreement that departs from the same airport
Note: If you are rebooked in a higher class of service, the airline cannot charge you for the upgrade. If you are downgraded to a lower class of service, the airline must refund the price difference.

Situation

Large airlines

Small airlines

Within the airline’s control (including for safety)

Large airlines must rebook you, free of charge:

from your original airport on their next available flight or the next available flight on an airline that they have a commercial agreement
from your original airport on the earlier flight of any other airline if they cannot rebook you within 9 hours of your original departure time
on a flight leaving from another airport, if there is one nearby, if they cannot rebook you within 48 hours of the original departure time

Small airlines must rebook you, free of charge:

from your original airport on their next available flight or on the flight of an airline with which they have a commercial agreement that departs from the same airport.

Outside the airline’s control

Large airlines must rebook you, free of charge:

on their next available flight or on the next available flight of an airline with which they have a commercial agreement with from your original airport within 48 hours after the departure time on your original ticket, or
on a flight leaving another airport, if there is an option nearby, if they cannot book you on a flight leaving within 48 hours at the original airport

Small airlines must rebook you, free of charge:

on their next available flight, or
on the flight of an airline with which they have a commercial agreement that departs from the same airport

Note: If you are rebooked in a higher class of service, the airline cannot charge you for the upgrade. If you are downgraded to a lower class of service, the airline must refund the price difference.

Refunds — if the trip no longer meets your needs

Situations within the airline’s control (including for safety)

If rebooking no longer meets your travel needs, the airline must:

refund the unused portion of the ticket
rebook you back to where you started if you are at a connecting airport

Compensation for inconvenience

Compensation for inconvenience only applies if the situation is within the airline’s control. Compensation is a fixed amount set out in the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). Depending on the situation, you may be eligible for compensation.

The airline must pay you compensation for your inconvenience if all of these apply:

the delay or cancellation is fully within the airline’s control but not required for safety
you were informed of the delay or cancellation 14 days or less before your original departure time
you arrived late at your final destination by 3 hours or more
you filed a claim for compensation in writing with the airline within 1 year of the delay or cancellation

The CTA does not have the authority under the APPR to award compensation for issues of:

pain and suffering
stress
loss of enjoyment
loss of income

The amount of compensation you are owed depends on how late you arrived at your final destination airport and airline size. The size of the airline is listed in the airline’s tariff.

Length of delay	Large airlines	Small airlines
3 or more hours late, but less than 6 hours	$400	$125
6 or more hours late, but less than 9 hours	$700	$250
9 or more hours late	$1,000	$500

Compensation payments from the airline

If compensation is owed, the airline must offer it in a monetary form. This can include cash, cheque, bank drafts, and electronic bank transfers.

An airline may also offer other forms of compensation, such as vouchers, but only if:

it informs the passenger of the monetary amount they are entitled to
it provides the passenger with the value of the alternative compensation in writing
the alternative compensation is worth more than the monetary amount
the alternative compensation has no expiry date
the passenger confirms in writing that they know about the monetary compensation but choose the alternative compensation instead

The amount of the compensation airlines provide must be equal or greater than the required amount of compensation in Canadian dollars. If a passenger requests compensation in a particular currency, airlines are encouraged to accommodate them, if possible. It is recognized that it may not be feasible to offer all currencies.

The compensation must be paid to the passenger who experienced the disruption, regardless of who paid for their ticket.

Avoiding duplicate compensation

A passenger can only receive compensation for inconvenience under the APPR if they have not already received compensation for the same delay or cancellation under other air passenger protection rules in another country or jurisdiction. Passengers have the right to seek compensation under the air passenger protection rules of their choice. Airlines cannot refuse to compensate a passenger simply because that passenger would also be eligible under another jurisdiction’s rules. It is up to airlines to track claims submitted to them under other rules to make sure the passenger receives compensation for inconvenience once.

Compensation for delays while travelling internationally

If you are travelling on an international itinerary, you may also be entitled to make a claim under the Montreal or Warsaw Conventions for any damages — such as expenses — that happened because of the delay. You must make these claims with the airline in writing. There is a 2-year time limit for any court action to claim damage.