The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that the Air Transat labour dispute offers insights into the sorry state of Canada's air passenger protection rules. A Globe editorial says that if the pilot strike had not been averted, travellers with a flight departing from Europe or Britain who had their flight cancelled would have been entitled to compensation under EU rules between $402 and $966, in addition to a rebooking of their flight or a refund. Meals and hotel stays are often covered. However, for a flight departing from Canada, where Canadian air passenger rules are in effect, strikes and labour disruptions would have been considered out of the airline's control. Travellers would have still been entitled to rebooking or a refund, but that is about it. Last December, the Canadian Transportation Agency proposed newer, tougher regulations, but a year later, amidst heavy lobbying from the airline industry, the reforms are still stuck on the tarmac. Similarly, a Parliamentary order in June, 2023, saying that airlines should pay part of the cost of the complaint resolution process -- with a fee the CTA proposed as being $790 per eligible complaint -- has gone nowhere. Complaint resolutions can take two years.
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