An air passenger rights advocate based in Hungary says the congestion and long wait times at Canadian airports could have been avoided by the airlines themselves.
Gabor Lukas says airlines have sold more tickets than current staffing levels can keep up with.
“The problem is the same, the airlines have over-committed themselves, and what we are seeing now was perfectly foreseeable and preventable,” said Lukas.
But he says no one company is to blame.
“This is a network-wide, or infrastructure-wide oversell, not a per-flight oversell.”
And despite calls to get rid of the ArriveCan app by the federal conservative transport critic, Lukas says he has not seen “clear, liable data” to determine the app’s impact.
“What I do know is that public health has to come ahead of business interests,” he said. “If we cannot travel in a way which is safe, which protects health, then probably we shouldn’t be travelling.”
It is on the airlines to adjust their ticket sales and procedures to keep up with possible delays stemming from the app, says Lukas.
If your flight is cancelled, It's up to the airline to rebook you within nine hours or buy you another ticket, even if it’s on another airline, he adds.
“They also owe you a compensation, up to $1,000, if you are delayed, or your flight is cancelled, and as a result, you arrive late at your destination by more than three hours — provided that they didn’t give you a 14-day notice.”
And if you decided not to travel, Lukas says the airline owes you a refund in the original form of payment.
If the airline delays your baggage, Lukas says you’re owed up to $2,300 for “interim expenses” — the essential items you buy while waiting for your bags to arrive.
But he says some airlines will make up “bogus explanations” for why they don’t need to pay back the passenger.
“That's why I encourage passengers to take airlines to small claims court, even if necessary to assert their rights,” said Lukas.
“Because if we want to change how airlines behave, there have to be some consequences to this type of shabby corporate conduct.”
