Less than four hours before departure, Ryan Farrell was surprised to learn his flight from Yellowknife to Calgary had been cancelled.

Air Canada cited 91裸聊视频渃rew constraints91裸聊视频� and rebooked him on a plane leaving 48 hours after the June 17 flight91裸聊视频檚 original takeoff time.

Farrell was even more surprised six weeks later, when he learned his request for compensation had been denied on the basis of the staff shortage.

91裸聊视频淪ince your Air Canada flight was delayed/cancelled due to crew constraints resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations, the compensation you are requesting does not apply because the delay/cancellation was caused by a safety-related issue,91裸聊视频� reads the email from customer relations dated July 29.

The rejection 91裸聊视频渇eels like a slap in the face,91裸聊视频� Farrell said.

91裸聊视频淚f they don91裸聊视频檛 have replacement crew to substitute in, then the flight (was) cancelled because they failed to assemble a crew, not because any other factor would have made it inherently unsafe to run the flight,91裸聊视频� he said in an email.

91裸聊视频淚 think the airlines are trying to exploit a general emotional connection that people make between 91裸聊视频楥OVID-1991裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频榮afety,91裸聊视频� when in reality if you put their logic to the test it doesn91裸聊视频檛 stand up.91裸聊视频�

Air Canada91裸聊视频檚 response to Farrell91裸聊视频檚 complaint was no outlier. In a Dec. 29 memo, the company instructed employees to classify flight cancellations caused by staff shortages as a 91裸聊视频渟afety91裸聊视频� problem, which would exclude travellers from compensation under federal regulations. That policy remains in place.

Canada91裸聊视频檚 passenger rights charter, the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), mandates airlines to pay up to $1,000 in compensation for cancellations or significant delays that stem from reasons within the carrier91裸聊视频檚 control when the notification comes 14 days or less before departure. However, airlines do not have to pay if the change was required for safety purposes.

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), a quasi-judicial federal body, says treating staff shortages as a safety matter violates federal rules.

91裸聊视频淚f a crew shortage is due to the actions or inactions of the carrier, the disruption will be considered within the carrier91裸聊视频檚 control for the purposes of the APPR. Therefore, a disruption caused by a crew shortage should not be considered 91裸聊视频榬equired for safety purposes91裸聊视频� when it is the carrier who caused the safety issue as a result of its own actions,91裸聊视频� the agency said in an email.

That stance reinforces a decision made July 8 91裸聊视频� three weeks before Farrell learned he91裸聊视频檇 been denied compensation 91裸聊视频� when the CTA used nearly identical language in a dispute over a flight at a different air carrier. The regulatory panel91裸聊视频檚 ruling in that case emphasized airlines91裸聊视频� obligations around advance planning 91裸聊视频渢o ensure that the carrier has enough staff available to operate the services it offers for sale.91裸聊视频�

In the December memo, which was issued at the height of the Omicron wave of COVID-19, Air Canada said: 91裸聊视频淓ffective immediately, flight cancellations due to crew are considered as Within Carrier Control 91裸聊视频� For Safety.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淐ustomers impacted by these flight cancellations will still be eligible for the standard of treatments such as hotel accommodations, meals etc. but will no longer be eligible for APPR claims/monetary compensation.91裸聊视频�

The staff directive said the stance would be 91裸聊视频渢emporary.91裸聊视频� But Air Canada acknowledged in an email on July 25 that the policy 91裸聊视频渞emains in place given the continued exceptional circumstances brought on by COVID variants.91裸聊视频�

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Gabor Lukacs, president of the Air Passenger Rights advocacy group, said Air Canada is exploiting a loophole in the passenger rights charter to avoid paying compensation, and called on the transport regulator for stronger enforcement.

91裸聊视频淭hey are misclassifying things that are clearly not a safety issue,91裸聊视频� he said of Canada91裸聊视频檚 largest airline, calling the policy 91裸聊视频渆gregious.91裸聊视频�

Consumers can dispute an airline91裸聊视频檚 denial of a claim via a compliant to the CTA. However, the agency91裸聊视频檚 backlog topped 15,300 air travel complaints as of May.

Lukacs also noted that European Union regulations do not exclude safety reasons from situations requiring compensation in the event of cancellations or delays. Payouts are precluded only as a result of 91裸聊视频渆xtraordinary circumstances,91裸聊视频� such as weather or political instability.

91裸聊视频淭his document, along with the previous declarations and behaviour since the beginning of the pandemic, shows that Air Canada91裸聊视频檚 priority is clearly to try to limit the costs of the flight cancellations instead of providing good service to its clients,91裸聊视频� Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer with Quebec-based advocacy group Option consommateurs, said after reviewing a copy of the directive.

She said Air Canada aims to deter passengers from requesting compensation in the first place. 91裸聊视频淭his tactic does not, in our opinion, demonstrate that the company cares about its customers.91裸聊视频�

Air Canada disagrees with that characterization.

91裸聊视频淎ir Canada had and continues to have more employees proportionate to its flying schedule when compared prior to the pandemic,91裸聊视频� the company said in an emailed statement, indicating it had done everything it could to prepare for operational hiccups.

91裸聊视频淎ir Canada follows all public health directives as part of its safety culture, and during the Omicron wave last winter that affected some crew availability, we revised our policy to better assist customers in their travels with enhanced levels of customer care for flight cancellations related to crew contending with COVID.91裸聊视频�

John Gradek, head of McGill University91裸聊视频檚 aviation management program, said the transportation agency is partly responsible for the 91裸聊视频渄ebacle91裸聊视频� because it established looser rules than those in Europe and the United States.

91裸聊视频淐arriers have been making strong efforts to point fingers and claim delays are outside of their control to reduce liability,91裸聊视频� he said in an email.

Companies in this story: (TSX:AC)

Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press

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