An appeal court has ruled in favour of a passenger whose flight was cancelled by WestJet one hour ahead of departure, upholding a compensation of $1,000.
The Federal Court of Appeal found that WestJet’s decision to cancel a passenger’s 2021 flight from Regina to Ottawa due to a crew shortage was within the airline’s control and was not required for safety purposes as the airline had suggested. The court found the passenger was entitled to $1,000 of compensation for the inconvenience he experienced as a result of the 21-hour delay.
“A disruption resulting from a crew shortage should not be considered to fall within the safety category unless the carrier demonstrates that the disruption could not have been reasonably prevented, or was unavoidable, despite proper planning and did not result from the carrier’s own actions or inactions,” Justice Gerald Heckman of the Federal Court of Appeal wrote in his Aug. 25 reasons for judgement….