WestJet loses passenger appeal for compensation over flight disruption

WestJet’s argument that passengers shouldn’t be compensated for any flight disruptions stemming from safety issues, regardless of the circumstances that led to the problem, did not fly with the Federal Court of Appeal.

The carrier was appealing a decision from the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) that awarded Owen Lareau $1,000 because his WestJet flight from Regina to Toronto was cancelled less than an hour before departure on July 18, 2021, due to a crew shortage.

“The appellant’s proposed interpretation of the safety category would effectively defeat the consumer protection scheme established by the regulations to redress the acute imbalance in market power to which passengers have historically been subjected in relation to air carriers. It must be rejected,” Justice Gerald Heckma