Consultation on the establishment of new reimbursement requirements for airlines at the OTC - (Comments fromOption consommateurs)

The global health crisis has shaken many sectors of the economy and affected the lifestyles of billions of people. Canada is no exception. In addition to turning the daily lives of Canadian consumers upside down, the pandemic has also affected several sectors of the economy, including air transport.

Whether in response to various measures imposed by government authorities (border closures, recommendations limiting travel to essential journeys), or following decisions taken by airlines (consolidation or cancellation of flights due to low seat occupancy), many passengers were unable to make the journey they had paid for.

However, despite not having received any service, most airlines refuse to refund them. Instead of a refund, many airlines force passengers to take out a travel credit. Claiming that reimbursing passengers would jeopardize their financial situation1, they arrogate to themselves the right to keep their customers' money.
Consumers are then forced to provide interest-free financing to the airlines, with no guarantee of repayment. Needless to say, this situation is completely unacceptable.

It was against this backdrop that SOR/2020-2832 was issued on December 18, 2020, which is the basis for this Transportation Agency consultation.