Air Canada cancellations: What are your passenger rights?

An air passenger advocate is urging those with cancelled Air Canada flights to know their rights after the airline announced Wednesday it would be cutting back service in July and August.

It comes following mounting frustrations against the airline over multiple reports of delayed flights, disruptions, and luggage sitting at a stand still.

#WATCH: @yulaeroport is packed with travellers who are either experiencing flight delays or are uncertain if they’ll have to wait hours before boarding a plane. This is due to staffing shortages and the increased demand in travel.

READ: https://t.co/ygvGOD7u7m pic.twitter.com/3iiI5cVYT9

— Alyssia (@rubertuccinews) June 30, 2022

In a letter to customers, Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Rousseau wrote, “to bring about the level of operational stability we need, with reluctance, we are now making meaningful reductions to our schedule in July and August in order to reduce passenger volumes and flows to a level we believe the air transport system can accommodate.”

Read more: ‘Meaningful reductions’: Air Canada says it’s reducing summer flight schedule

Airlines and the federal government have been scrambling for a while to respond to endless lines, flight disruptions, lost luggage, and passport approval issues and this is the latest bump in the road.

What your rights are amid all these flight cancellations?

Gabor Lukacs, president of Air Passenger Rights, says if you get stuck, document everything and remember you have to be re-booked within nine hours of when your flight was scheduled to take off and, on the airline, you originally booked with.

“Or if that’s not available then the airline has to buy them a ticket on flights of competitor airlines. This is one thing airlines really loathe to comply with and they will tell you all sorts of miscommunication that, ‘We don’t have an agreement with the other airlines.’ The answer is: tough luck, Air Canada. The law is you have to buy me a ticket. Don’t like it? Use your corporate credit card,” Lukacs said.

#WATCH: “You may not be able to check in one time,” says @AirPassRightsCA founder, Gabor Lukacs, on the chaos of delayed flights and disruptions being seen at airports across Canada. As a result, Air Canada reduced their summer flight schedule.

READ: https://t.co/ygvGOCPSIM pic.twitter.com/hAnT8R6YUA

— Alyssia (@rubertuccinews) June 30, 2022

“It has been very, very well clear in that regard. They can restrict re-booking to their own network only for nine hours and the alternative flight has to be later than the original flight, not earlier. So, if you had a 12 p.m. flight, they cannot force you on a 6 a.m. flight because you have a life. People are going to face lots of hardship because airlines are systematically disobeying the law.” Lukacs said.

Under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, airlines are required to compensate passengers for flight delays or cancellations that are within their control.

• $400 Cdn. for delays at arrival between 3 and 6 hours
• $700 Cdn. for delays at arrival between 6 and 9 hours
• $1,000 Cdn. for delays at arrival of 9 hours and more

“They… reasonably knew this was coming. They ignored the facts, so they have full control over what happened. This is something the airline miscalculated or more likely, deliberately and knowingly ignored the numbers.” He says “if, for some reason, you still aren’t getting where you need to go, book with another airline, keep your receipts and send a bill to Air Canada.”

“What concerns me more is what’s going to be happening next summer. If we don’t do anything, if we passengers let this go and hope it’s going to blow over — this is going to happen again, and again, and again.”

A spokesperson for Trudeau airport in Montreal told CityNews in a statement, “Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) remains concerned and is monitoring the situation on a daily basis. It is working with its various partners, both government agencies and our airline partners. We know that every effort is being made by our partners to minimize the impact on passengers under the current circumstances.”

Despite this passengers are still feeling the heat.

“Travelling in and of itself is very taxing on the body. And so to endure long lines and delays and uncertainty is adding to the anxiety of travelling,” explained Catherine Garacho, a Montreal teacher who works in Northern Quebec. “This anxiety of waiting and uncertainty is adding to something that is not very pleasant.”

#WATCH: “It’s been very annoying to travel,” says frequent traveller Catherine Garacho, from Montreal and teaches in northern Quebec. She says travelling is already taxing and has become more so because of delays and the long lines at the airport.

READ: https://t.co/ygvGOD7u7m pic.twitter.com/RBIWwZ3rlc

— Alyssia (@rubertuccinews) June 30, 2022

Garacho isn’t the only one. A man from Liberia who was supposed to head home on Wednesday told CityNews, “no one feels good when your mind is set to travel and all of a sudden it’s changed and you have to pay extra due for extra costs. I mean, it’s not a good feeling, but what can you do now?

“I know Canada to be a developed country. So maybe they’re just having a problem, which I hope they will correct.”

Allison Wallace with Flight Centre isn’t surprised at Air Canada’s announcement.

“We have been seeing a compliment of different variables that have been creating this situation, so we’ve got a severe staffing shortage, massive pent-up demand, we’ve gone into one of our busiest peak travel seasons — being the summer — and the travel industry right now is just not able to keep up.”

Air Canada has not specified exactly what flights are going to be cancelled on a daily basis.

“The message that came out didn’t necessarily let people know if their specific flight was cancelled. I think the frustration and the challenge is that people got this message and they’re not sure if their flight in a couple of weeks or next month is actually going to be affected. A lot of people are concerned. They’ve been looking forward to travelling [and] it’s another one of those uncertainties that is hitting our industry which is very challenging for us to help manage and mitigate.”

Wallace advises people to get travel insurance if they’re going ahead with their flight.

“Especially if people’s flights haven’t been cancelled yet, it depends on their situation, but it may provide some coverage. I know it doesn’t relieve people in terms of whether they’ll be able to take their trip at all, but there is a trickle-down effect. I think everybody to remember to give themselves lots of time because the severe staffing shortages isn’t just the airlines, it’s the agencies, the airports, it’s the passport offices… and to definitely know what your back-up options are in case it might happen, just so you’re prepared,” Wallace said.

Given the cuts, it’s about 154 fewer Air Canada flights taking off each day and this will mostly affect people along the busy Toronto to Montreal route. All the affected flights are either domestic or between Canada and the US.

~With files from Alyssia Michelle Morton and The Canadian Press