Less than four hours before departure, Ryan Farrell was surprised to learn his flight from Yellowknife to Calgary had been cancelled.

Air Canada cited B次元官网网址渃rew constraintsB次元官网网址� and rebooked him on a plane leaving 48 hours after the June 17 flightB次元官网网址檚 original takeoff time.

Farrell was even more surprised six weeks later, when he learned his request for compensation had been denied on the basis of the staff shortage.

B次元官网网址淪ince your Air Canada flight was delayed/cancelled due to crew constraints resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations, the compensation you are requesting does not apply because the delay/cancellation was caused by a safety-related issue,B次元官网网址� reads the email from customer relations dated July 29.

The rejection B次元官网网址渇eels like a slap in the face,B次元官网网址� Farrell said.

B次元官网网址淚f they donB次元官网网址檛 have replacement crew to substitute in, then the flight (was) cancelled because they failed to assemble a crew, not because any other factor would have made it inherently unsafe to run the flight,B次元官网网址� he said in an email.

B次元官网网址淚 think the airlines are trying to exploit a general emotional connection that people make between B次元官网网址楥OVID-19B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址榮afety,B次元官网网址� when in reality if you put their logic to the test it doesnB次元官网网址檛 stand up.B次元官网网址�

Air CanadaB次元官网网址檚 response to FarrellB次元官网网址檚 complaint was no outlier. In a Dec. 29 memo, the company instructed employees to classify flight cancellations caused by staff shortages as a B次元官网网址渟afetyB次元官网网址� problem, which would exclude travellers from compensation under federal regulations. That policy remains in place.

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 passenger rights charter, the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), mandates airlines to pay up to $1,000 in compensation for cancellations or significant delays that stem from reasons within the carrierB次元官网网址檚 control when the notification comes 14 days or less before departure. However, airlines do not have to pay if the change was required for safety purposes.

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), a quasi-judicial federal body, says treating staff shortages as a safety matter violates federal rules.

B次元官网网址淚f a crew shortage is due to the actions or inactions of the carrier, the disruption will be considered within the carrierB次元官网网址檚 control for the purposes of the APPR. Therefore, a disruption caused by a crew shortage should not be considered B次元官网网址榬equired for safety purposesB次元官网网址� when it is the carrier who caused the safety issue as a result of its own actions,B次元官网网址� the agency said in an email.

That stance reinforces a decision made July 8 B次元官网网址� three weeks before Farrell learned heB次元官网网址檇 been denied compensation B次元官网网址� when the CTA used nearly identical language in a dispute over a flight at a different air carrier. The regulatory panelB次元官网网址檚 ruling in that case emphasized airlinesB次元官网网址� obligations around advance planning B次元官网网址渢o ensure that the carrier has enough staff available to operate the services it offers for sale.B次元官网网址�

In the December memo, which was issued at the height of the Omicron wave of COVID-19, Air Canada said: B次元官网网址淓ffective immediately, flight cancellations due to crew are considered as Within Carrier Control B次元官网网址� For Safety.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淐ustomers impacted by these flight cancellations will still be eligible for the standard of treatments such as hotel accommodations, meals etc. but will no longer be eligible for APPR claims/monetary compensation.B次元官网网址�

The staff directive said the stance would be B次元官网网址渢emporary.B次元官网网址� But Air Canada acknowledged in an email on July 25 that the policy B次元官网网址渞emains in place given the continued exceptional circumstances brought on by COVID variants.B次元官网网址�

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Gabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights advocacy group, said Air Canada is exploiting a loophole in the passenger rights charter to avoid paying compensation, and called on the transport regulator for stronger enforcement.

B次元官网网址淭hey are misclassifying things that are clearly not a safety issue,B次元官网网址� he said of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 largest airline, calling the policy B次元官网网址渆gregious.B次元官网网址�

Consumers can dispute an airlineB次元官网网址檚 denial of a claim via a compliant to the CTA. However, the agencyB次元官网网址檚 backlog topped 15,300 air travel complaints as of May.

Lukacs also noted that European Union regulations do not exclude safety reasons from situations requiring compensation in the event of cancellations or delays. Payouts are precluded only as a result of B次元官网网址渆xtraordinary circumstances,B次元官网网址� such as weather or political instability.

B次元官网网址淭his document, along with the previous declarations and behaviour since the beginning of the pandemic, shows that Air CanadaB次元官网网址檚 priority is clearly to try to limit the costs of the flight cancellations instead of providing good service to its clients,B次元官网网址� Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer with Quebec-based advocacy group Option consommateurs, said after reviewing a copy of the directive.

She said Air Canada aims to deter passengers from requesting compensation in the first place. B次元官网网址淭his tactic does not, in our opinion, demonstrate that the company cares about its customers.B次元官网网址�

Air Canada disagrees with that characterization.

B次元官网网址淎ir Canada had and continues to have more employees proportionate to its flying schedule when compared prior to the pandemic,B次元官网网址� the company said in an emailed statement, indicating it had done everything it could to prepare for operational hiccups.

B次元官网网址淎ir Canada follows all public health directives as part of its safety culture, and during the Omicron wave last winter that affected some crew availability, we revised our policy to better assist customers in their travels with enhanced levels of customer care for flight cancellations related to crew contending with COVID.B次元官网网址�

John Gradek, head of McGill UniversityB次元官网网址檚 aviation management program, said the transportation agency is partly responsible for the B次元官网网址渄ebacleB次元官网网址� because it established looser rules than those in Europe and the United States.

B次元官网网址淐arriers have been making strong efforts to point fingers and claim delays are outside of their control to reduce liability,B次元官网网址� he said in an email.

Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

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