IMPORTANT UPDATES ON CANADIAN AIR CARRIER REGULATIONS
January 9, 2020
As we have previously reported, the second and final phase of Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) entered into force on December 15, 2019. The regulations cover flights to, from, or within Canada, including code shares, and address a variety of consumer protection issues such as denied boarding compensation, tarmac delay requirements, and more. The responsible regulator is the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), which in December published guidance material on the requirements concerning flight delays and cancellations as well as the seating of children under 14 years of age.
December 15, 2019, was also the entry into force date of Transport Canada’s regulations on the collection of air travel performance data from air service providers, the Air Travel Performance Data Collection Regulations. The first reports from carriers are due 120 days after the December implementation date, i.e., on April 13, 2020. The regulations cover both charter and scheduled carriers, with some variation depending on whether the carrier is classified as “large” or “small.” Performance data required for filings include origin/destination, on-time performance, and metrics on denied boardings, tarmac delays, mishandled baggage, and passenger complaints.
Finally, in a separate but related development, the CTA is in the process of developing new accessible transportation regulations, known as the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR). Phase I of these regulations was published in July 2019 and guidance materials are forthcoming. On December 5, 2019, the CTA published Phase II and is seeking public comment through February 7, 2020. Topics under study in Phase II include the transportation of emotional support animals, planning and reporting obligations for carriers, and whether to apply CTA’s One Person, One Fare requirement to international travel. The last of these may result in carriers being required to provide adjacent passenger seating at no extra cost for a personal attendant, large service animal, or passenger functionally disabled by obesity.
Carriers with operations to, from, or within Canada should review their policies and procedures in light of these regulations and consider submitting comments on ATPDR Phase II. As a reminder, certain rules have extraterritorial effect and may impact carrier policies on code share service to, from, or within Canada.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665).
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