People line up and check in for an international flight at Pearson International Airport during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto, Oct. 14, 2020.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
The head of a consumer interest group is calling on airlines to refund passengers’ cancelled fares, ahead of a hearing today in Parliament on the impact of COVID-19 on air travel.
John Lawford, the executive director and general counsel of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said forcing airlines to issue the refunds is the least the government could do for people who have fallen on hard times due to COVID-19.
He criticized the federal government for dealing with Canada’s airlines, which are fighting in court to quash rules that bolster compensation for passengers who experience delayed flights or damaged baggage.
He urged the federal government to make dropping the lawsuit a condition of any aid package it issues to the airline sector.
Lawford also called for the federal government to mandate a “refund fund” into which airlines would have to put a small portion of revenue in case of an unforeseen event, like a pandemic.
Lawford is scheduled to testify as a witness at the hearing, along with representatives from other groups, including Air Passenger Rights, the Canadian Automobile Association and Option consommateurs.
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