New federal air passenger protection rules that put the onus on air carriers to compensate passengers for delays or cancellations on their trips that are within the airline’s control will not get to the root of the problems plaguing the industry and will result in higher airfares for Canadians, Todd Doherty, MP for Cariboo-Prince George, says.
Doherty said Monday’s announcement by Transport Minister Omar Alghabra that the government is closing loopholes used by the airlines to avoid paying travelers for trip disruptions does nothing to motivate airports to become better-prepared for weather issues like the pre-Christmas snowstorm at Vancouver International Airport that caused long delays for passengers.
“YVR couldn’t keep up with runway maintenance and snow clearing or make sure the aprons were safe and secure for the airlines to taxi in or be pushed out, and they ran out of de-icing fluid,” said Doherty. “Regardless of whether you have an airport that’s terrible at winter operations, if an airline experiences tons of delays at that airport, that airport is not going to be held responsible. It’s going to be the airline’ fault and I think that’s wrong."
Once the new rules take effect, the government will require airlines to prove flight delays are due to safety concerns, such as adverse weather, most often cited as the reason for last-minute cancellations or delays.
It will no longer be the responsibility of passengers to show they are entitled to refunds on air tickets or be forced to pay the costs of hotels, meals and transportation if their travel plans are disrupted for reasons other than safety.
“There are more in the transportation supply chain than just airlines, and to heap all of the blame and all of the responsibility onto one group it’s only going to serve to make things worse,” said Doherty, who worked 27 years in the aviation sector before he entered federal politics.
“There’s going to be an increased cost of airline tickets for passengers and my worry is that airlines will then start making air service decisions based on an airport’s reliability and winter operations. When the report came out last week from the transport committee that studied this, our hope was that there would be more of a shared responsibility throughout the whole aviation ecosystem. You need to make everyone accountable.”
