Air Canada Cited Safety Maintenance to Deny Compensation While Reassigning Functioning Aircraft, Investigation Finds
An investigation by CBC Go Public found that Air Canada repeatedly denied passenger compensation for cancelled flights by citing safety-related maintenance, while internal records showed the airline made commercial decisions to reassign functioning aircraft to other routes. The Canadian Transportation Agency ordered the airline to pay one passenger $1,000, and advocates are calling the practice a 'maintenance loophole.'
Investigative reporting by CBC Go Public has revealed that Air Canada repeatedly denied passenger compensation for flight cancellations by citing safety-related maintenance, even as internal records indicated the airline made commercial decisions to reassign functioning aircraft to other routes.
In four documented cases reviewed by Go Public, Air Canada claimed that safety issues prevented it from paying compensation under Canadian regulations. However, evidence showed that the incidents cited by the airline involved different aircraft or were unrelated to the planes scheduled for the cancelled flights. Air Canada acknowledged in a written statement that it made commercial decisions to reassign functioning aircraft to other routes in all four investigated cases.
One of those cases involved Juan Rojas, whose September 2022 flight from Montreal to Bogotá was cancelled. Air Canada denied his compensation claim by citing safety-related maintenance, submitting documents to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) claiming a catering truck had struck his plane. Public records, however, showed the damaged aircraft was not the one assigned to his flight. The CTA ruled in Rojas's favor, ordering Air Canada to pay him $1,000 in compensation. The agency characterized the aircraft swap as a commercial decision requiring reimbursement and found the airline's claim of safety issues to be unfounded.
Go Public uncovered three additional instances where Air Canada cited safety-related maintenance to deny compensation, while flight records showed the original aircraft were used on other routes. In one case involving Michael Bociurkiw, the passenger received an email stating his connecting flight was cancelled for safety maintenance, but the registration number cited in the message matched the aircraft he was currently seated on.
Lawyer Sylvie De Bellefeuille described the maintenance exemption as a "loophole" allowing airlines to deny compensation without sufficient passenger oversight. Advocates and lawyers note that this practice results in passengers being denied statutory compensation for delays and cancellations due to alleged safety exemptions, causing financial losses for those who must pursue individual complaints through the CTA to receive what they are owed.
Despite these findings, the CTA stated it has never issued a penalty against Air Canada for incorrectly characterizing a flight cancellation as safety-related maintenance.