Frustrated by Sunwing’s “unacceptable” behavior after a particularly chaotic holiday season, Germany’s transport minister wants to tighten the airlines’ screws by making it easier to compensate customers whose flights have been delayed or cancelled.
• Also read: Holiday chaos: Sunwing, Air Canada and WestJet make their mea culpa in the parliamentary committee
• Also read: Traveler Complaints: Only $66,850 in fines for culpable carriers in nine months
• Also read: Setbacks at airports: The minister and industry leaders will testify
“The burden of proof must be shifted from the travelers to the airlines,” Omar Alghabra told a parliamentary special committee on Thursday. In the spring he wants to propose new rules.
“Right now, too often, passengers are being told they are not entitled to compensation when in fact they are entitled to it. This situation has triggered an avalanche of complaints to the Canadian Transportation Agency,” the minister told the parliamentary committee on Thursday.
In particular, he notes that airlines use safety-related arguments to justify the impossibility of compensating customers in the event of a cancellation or long delay of their flight.
According to the latest version of the Air Passenger Protection Ordinance, which came into force in September, customers must prove why they are entitled to financial compensation.
Mr. Alghabra has previously announced that he is working on new rules and has assured that new resources and procedures will be implemented at the Canadian Transportation Agency.
The organization has a backlog of 33,000 complaints related to the aviation sector, including 21,000 since April 1, its president France Pégéot said.
Sunwing criticized from all sides
More than any other company, Sunwing was the target of Minister Alghabra and a host of other interest groups who marched before members of the Transport Committee.
“Sunwing violated passenger rights,” he snapped, adding “some airlines failed to meet their obligations.”
The CEO of Aéroports de Montréal (ADM) didn’t mince his words either.
“All operations at YUL went well [aéroport de Montréal] throughout the holiday season, with the exception of one partner: Sunwing […]he said, calling the relationship “more problematic” than others, also due to an “unacceptable” lack of communication.
Mr. Rainville says ADM last week demanded “an action plan from Sunwing to prevent the return to normal operations from taking so long”.
Airlines apologize and defend themselves
Executives invited to the committee from Sunwing, Air Canada and WestJet all issued profuse apologies but seemed tired of being the prime suspects: they want responsibility for the delays to be shared by a large number of stakeholders.
“Let me begin by apologizing for not delivering the level of service that Canadians have come to expect,” Sunwing President Len Corrado said at the outset. The company received 7,000 complaints between December 15 and December 31 and canceled 67 flights.
For David Rheault, vice president of government and community relations at Air Canada, “airlines should not be responsible for financial compensation in cases of force majeure,” such as the December 23 blizzard.
Same story on WestJet’s side, Andrew Gibbons, its vice president for foreign affairs, doesn’t believe “government’s priority” should be to increase penalties for “the only group that needs to be held accountable.” , neither do the airlines .
Various causes beyond the control of airlines can result in delays or cancellations such as: B. Queues at customs or lack of staff at the airport.