Shifting the burden of proof from passengers to airlines is a matter of fairness, Alghabra said in an interview with the Star. The current complaints process with the Canadian Transportation Agency, at least on paper, is supposed to take 120 days.
“It is presumed to be within the carrier’s control and not required for safety reasons unless the carrier proves the contrary,” said the legislation, which also envisions a shorter, 90-day time frame for resolving passenger complaints. Now, the burden of proof will shift to the airlines if the legislation is passed. Previously, passengers had to make their case that a delay or cancellation was within the airline’s control. “It’s clear there are some loopholes that needed to be closed,” said Alghabra as he discussed the changes, which are in an omnibus budget bill that received first reading in the House of Commons last Thursday.Īmong the targets? A widely criticized loophole that has allowed airlines to avoid paying compensation by claiming the cause of a delay or cancellation was outside their control, and necessary for safety purposes. In a news conference Monday, federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the government had a simple goal as it put together changes to the Transportation Act: give airlines less wiggle room for getting out of compensating passengers. That’s the message the federal government is sending to airlines as it unveils new legislation to deal with passenger complaints.
0 kommentar(er)
