Flair Airlines ordered to pay for damaged products due to baggage delay

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Flair Airlines is based in Edmonton, Alberta.

The Canadian Press

A court has ordered Flair Airlines to pay hundreds of dollars in compensation to a man whose crab meat and fishcakes went bad in his luggage after a days-long delay.

Discount carrier must pay $780 to Brian Vu, for damaged items plus baggage fees, interest and legal fees, according to a ruling by the Resolution Tribunal on Thursday British Columbia Civil Society.

Mr. Vu flew from British Columbia to Ontario on November 6, 2022, paying $72 to check two bags, one of which did not arrive until November 10.< /p>

The delayed baggage contained sea cucumbers, tough-skinned marine animals, and dandelion roots as well as crab and fish, which all deteriorated, the loss of which amounted to $522, the traveler said.

The items deteriorated on their own, tribunal member Peter Mennie wrote, paraphrasing the airline.

Flair also argued that its contract with passengers prohibited them from packing perishable items in checked baggage.

However, the court said carriers are responsible for suitcases once they are checked, whether or not they contain items they should not contain.

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The Canadian Transportation Agency has repeatedly argued that if an airline accepts checked baggage, then it assumes responsibility for the baggage, even if it did not agree to carry certain items, wrote Mr. Mennie.

An airline is liable if damage occurs during any period the checked baggage was in the airline's custody, he said, citing the Montreal Convention, a multilateral treaty on liability and compensation. of air travelers.

The Canada Transportation Act does not allow an airline to avoid its responsibility, which is set out in the Charter of passenger rights and in the Montreal Convention, added Mr. Mennie.

According to the president of the Air Passenger Rights group, Gabor Lukacs, the decision confirms that fancy contract language does not trump federal rules.

Airlines love to evade liability, even though the law says that x27;they must pay compensation, says Mr. Lukacs. The importance of this case is that it reaffirms the well-established principle that it is not possible, it is not permissible under the law in Canada.