Delayed or cancelled flight: your rights as a passenger in Canada
Most travellers treat a six-hour delay as bad luck. Sometimes that is right, and sometimes it is worth $700. The difference comes down to one question: was the cause within the airline's control?
The Air Passenger Protection Regulations have governed this since 2019 for any flight to, from or within Canada. Here is what they cover, what they do not, and how to claim without losing an evening to it.
The only question that matters is the cause
The regulations sort every disruption into one of three buckets. Within the airline's control: scheduling, overbooking, planned maintenance, crew shortages. That is where compensation applies. Within their control but safety-related, such as an unexpected mechanical fault: they owe you rebooking and care, but no compensation. Outside their control: weather, a bird strike, an air traffic control decision, a strike somewhere other than the airline. No compensation there either.
The airline tells you which bucket applies, and that is where it gets decided. A vague announcement at the counter is worth nothing: you are entitled to the reason in writing, and an airline blaming weather on a day when every other flight departs normally deserves to be pushed on it.
The amounts, when the delay is on them
Compensation is calculated on the delay arriving at your final destination, not the delay at departure. For large airlines (Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat, Flair and the like):
- Delay of 3 to 6 hours : $400.
- Delay of 6 to 9 hours : $700.
- Delay of 9 hours or more : $1,000.
- Small airlines : the same tiers, at $125, $250 and $500.
- Denied boarding (overbooking) : a separate and higher scale, up to $2,400 depending on the delay you end up with.
What you get even without compensation
Even when the cause rules out compensation, the airline keeps obligations. After two hours of delay it must provide reasonable food and drink plus a way to communicate. If the new departure is the next day, accommodation and transport to the hotel are on them. And in every case they must rebook you, on another airline where the delay passes a certain threshold.
On the tarmac the rule is firm: after three hours waiting on board, the airline must let you off, unless takeoff is imminent.
Baggage runs on its own rules
A lost, damaged or late bag falls under a different calculation, capped at roughly $2,350. Report it before you leave the baggage hall: a file reference opened at the airport is worth far more than a phone call the next day. Keep receipts for whatever you have to replace, since those are what the claim rests on.
Checked bag fees are refunded on top when the bag arrives late. Plenty of people never think to ask.
How to actually claim
You have one year after the incident to file with the airline, and they have thirty days to answer. Keep it short: flight number, date, scheduled arrival, actual arrival, the reason you were given, and the amount claimed. Attach the boarding pass and receipts.
If the answer drags or looks wrong, the file can go to the Canadian Transportation Agency. Amounts and rules do change, so confirm the current figures on the Agency's site before sending your claim.
What to do at the airport
Photograph the departure board showing the delay, note the exact moment the wheels touch down on arrival, and ask for the cause in writing before leaving the airport. Those three things take two minutes and turn an arguable claim into a solid one.