Was your travel disrupted? Here’s what you’re owed — and what you won’t get | CBC News

The weather may be clearing, but many travellers are still unable to reach their destination or return home after last week’s winter storm. Many others are still waiting for answers and refunds after their travel plans went awry.

Hundreds of Canadians have spent days stuck in Mexico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic after Sunwing repeatedly cancelled their flights home. Stranded flyers say they have received little information or support from the airline.

• Are you stranded because of flight or train cancellations? We want to talk to you. Send an email to [email protected].

WestJet and Air Canada passengers also reported issues reaching their destinations.

Meanwhile, some rail passengers are still waiting to reach their destinations after Via Rail trains were halted between Windsor and Quebec City overnight Friday into Saturday, leaving travellers stuck on board for more than 20 hours. Via Rail resumed service between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal on Tuesday but warned of significant delays due to congestion along the routes.

While some travellers wait to find out when they might reach their destinations, others are wondering when they might receive refunds and compensation — if, that is, they’re entitled to anything at all.

Air travel rights

There are clear rules for Canadian airlines in case of delays and cancellations. Airlines must rebook passengers on a flight to their destination within 48 hours of their original departure time, and if the original airline can’t get them there, it must rebook them on a competitor airline.

For many Canadians stranded over the past week who contacted CBC News, that doesn’t appear to have been offered as an option. 

In a statement, Sunwing said it was working to organize “recovery” flights, and said customers could book their own flights home on a different airline, and then submit a refund request for their unused Sunwing flight. It made no mention of its obligation under the federal rules to rebook passengers on other airlines.

John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) in Ottawa, says it appeared airlines were not being “forthcoming” with passengers about their right to be rebooked on another carrier.

“Insist on trying to get a flight on a different airline … Passengers should know they have that right if they can’t be rebooked within two days,” Lawford said.

While passengers can get compensation for delays, cancellations and missing luggage, Canada doesn’t require airlines to cover the cost of delayed passengers’ accommodation, food or travel to and from airports while they wait to be rebooked on a new flight. That means travellers will need to pay out of pocket for those costs.

Lawford recommends any delayed or stranded passengers keep all of their receipts and file a claim for compensation with their airline. 

Fewer rights for rail passengers

There are no equivalent passenger rights protecting rail travellers — meaning Via Rail customers whose trips were disrupted in recent days are only entitled to whatever the company wants to give them.

In a statement to CBC News on Tuesday, Via Rail said passengers whose trains were cancelled between Dec. 24 and 26 would automatically receive a full refund. Passengers could cancel Dec. 27 trips online, and obtain a refund.

Customers would need to contact Via Rail to request a refund for a connecting leg of their journey or a return trip. 

It was unclear whether passengers who spent lengthy periods trapped on stopped trains last week would receive any compensation. 

Via Rail said all trains on its Toronto to Ottawa and Toronto to Montreal routes would be running on the regular schedule from Wednesday, but delays were possible.

Better accountability?

In the U.S., Southwest Airlines is facing extra scrutiny after cancelling thousands of flights and leaving travellers stranded at airports across the country in recent days.

The U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation both plan to look into the airline’s actions — including why it cancelled even more flights after the worst of the bad weather had passed.

Lawford suggested Canadian travellers could put pressure on lawmakers to improve air passenger rights by contacting their local MP to share their travel experience.

In a statement to CBC News, a spokesperson for Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said both their office and Transport Canada were “in regular contact with airlines and airports to ensure they have what they need to keep passengers moving safely.”

Regarding Via Rail’s disruptions, the spokesperson said the government would “hold all those involved accountable,” without providing further details.