While it appears as though passenger rights legislation will not be implemented any time soon in Canada, regulatory changes aimed at enhancing airline passenger protection in the United States are scheduled to take effect April 29, 2010. The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) published the regulatory changes on December 30, 2009.
New U.S. Passenger Rights Regulations Target Tarmac Delays
January 26th, 2010 | CommentsOne Carry-On Bag Now Allowed when Travelling to the United States
January 19th, 2010 | Comments
The recently implemented carry-on luggage restrictions for passengers travelling from Canada to the United States were changed today by Transport Canada. As of January 20, 2010, passengers travelling to the United States are permitted to bring one carry-on bag. All items brought on the aircraft such as reading material, personal electronics and medications must be stored in the passenger’s single carry-on bag. For the Transport Canada announcement, click here. For information regarding permitted and non-permitted items, click here for the Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority website.
CTA Ruling on Allergies: Feel Like a Nut?
January 12th, 2010 | Comments
On January 6, 2010, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) released its Ruling on a complaint by two passengers who claimed that they had experienced difficulties relating to peanut allergies while travelling with Air Canada. The complainants wanted an outright ban on the service of nuts onboard aircraft, as well as in-flight announcements asking other passengers not to consume nuts or nut products.
Proposed Liberalization of Canada’s Foreign Ownership Rules
December 14th, 2009 | Comments
New regulations to liberalize Canada’s foreign ownership rules in connection with Canadian air carriers are expected to come into force in 2010. The changes are contained in Bill C-10, the Budget Implementation Act, and will apply to all air carriers (i.e. public, private, fixed-wing, rotary-wing, etc.).
The legislative changes stemmed from recommendations of the Competition Policy Review Panel, which was established in 2007 by the Minister of Industry to examine and report on laws affecting competitiveness of Canadian businesses, especially those in the aviation sector.
Update on Bill C-310: Canadian Passenger Bill of Rights
December 7th, 2009 | Comments
On February 14, 2008, thousands of passengers were stranded for up to ten hours onboard several JetBlue Airways aircraft on the tarmac at Kennedy International Airport. The passengers complained that they were deprived of food and water and that restrooms were not available as toilets had overflowed. A month later, several hundred passengers travelling with several other airlines were stranded aboard planes at JFK after a day-long ice storm. In response, New York State passed a law providing airline passengers with certain minimum rights, which if violated would attract fines payable by the airlines. The New York State law was later “struck down” in a court decision finding that aviation was under federal and not state jurisdiction.
