Forms of refunds

If the airline owes you a refund or compensation for a delay, cancellation or denied boarding, including service fees you paid to the airline, it must offer it in a monetary form. This can include cash, cheque, bank drafts, and electronic bank transfers.

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

Vouchers for refunds, compensation and service fees

An airline may also offer another form of refund or compensation, such as vouchers, but only if:

• it tells the passenger the monetary amount they are entitled to
• it tells the passenger in writing the value of the other form of payment it is offering
• the other form is greater in value than the monetary amount the passenger is entitled to
• the other form of payment has no expiry date
• the passenger confirms in writing they know that monetary payment is available, but they choose the other form of payment

Foreign currencies

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.

Vouchers for assistance during a flight disruption

When there is a flight delay or cancellation that is within the airline’s control or within the airline’s control but required for safety, the operating airline must provide the assistance (food, drinks, communication, accommodations), if the passengers:

• were informed of the delay or cancellation less than 12 hours before the original departure time, and
• have waited 2 hours or more since the original departure time

This assistance may be in the form of vouchers.

An airline may only limit or refuse to provide the required assistance if doing so would further delay the passenger. For example, if a flight has been delayed for 2 hours, but boarding is expected to start within 30 minutes, offering passengers airport food vouchers may prevent timely boarding. In this case, offering water and a simple snack may be reasonable.