Decision No. 27-C-A-2023

[1] The applicants were scheduled to take a return flight from Cancún, Mexico, to Montréal, Quebec, on February 15, 2020. They state that they were denied boarding without being given a reason for the denial, and that they were rebooked on an alternate flight with the respondent the next day, February 16, at the same time.

[2] The applicants seek compensation in the amount of CAD 2,400 each for denial of boarding under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR).

[3] In this decision, the role of the Canadian Transportation Agency (Agency) is to decide whether the respondent properly applied the terms and conditions applicable to the tickets that the applicants purchased, as set out in its Tariff.

[4] If the Agency finds that the respondent failed to properly apply its Tariff, it may direct the respondent to take the corrective measures that it considers appropriate or to pay compensation for any expense incurred by a person adversely affected by its failure.

[5] The Agency opened pleadings on January 19, 2023. The respondent had until February 9, 2023, to file a response to the application, but has not done so. The Agency therefore accepts the applicants’ evidence as uncontested.

[6] Furthermore, no evidence was submitted to show that the denial of boarding was outside the respondent’s control or required for safety purposes in accordance with the APPR. Consequently, the Agency finds that the denial of boarding was within the respondent’s control.

[7] Under the Canada Transportation Act, the obligations set out in the APPR regarding minimum compensation that the air carrier is required to pay passengers for inconvenience, when the denial of boarding is within the air carrier’s control, are deemed to form part of the terms and conditions set out in the carrier’s tariffs and apply in this case. Consequently, because the applicants arrived at their destination with a delay of over 9 hours due to a denial of boarding that was within the respondent’s control, they are entitled to compensation for inconvenience in the amount of CAD 2,400 each.

Order

[8] The Agency orders Interjet to compensate the applicants in the amount of CAD 2,400 each as soon as possible and no later than April 27, 2023.