Canadian Air Travel Accessibility
A summary of the Canadian regulations for accessible air travel
The Canadian Transport Agency has summarized the Air Travel Accessibility Regulations, which set out the rights of passengers with disabilities.
The Canadian Transport Agency's website includes a summary of the Air Travel Accessibility Regulations. This summary and other Canadian Transportation Agency publications are available in multiple formats and on its web site at: www.cta.gc.ca.
The Table of Contents for the regulations is:
Part VII – Terms and Conditions of Carriage of Persons with Disabilities
- Bridging the communications gap
- Accepting a passenger's judgement
- Making accessible seats available
- If more than one air carrier is involved
- Advance notice
- Arrival and departure services
- Services on board an aircraft
- Service animals
- Using personal manual wheelchairs
- Carrying mobility and technical aids
- Exceptions
- Responsibility for damage
- Repairs
- Replacement
- Safety
- Personnel Training for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities Regulations
- Complaints
- Information
The overall statement of the rights of passengers with disabilities is stated like this: "Under the Canada Transportation Act, the Agency has the power to remove 'undue obstacles' from the federally-regulated transportation network. This means that persons with disabilities should not be restricted by unnecessary or unjustified barriers to travel."
When airlines and customers don't agree that the airline has properly fulfilled its responsibilities, the first course of action is to try and resolve it on the spot, so the travel can continue unimpeded.
Make A Complaint
If the problem escalates, it is important for the traveller with a disability to make a complaint as soon as possible. First complain to the airline, but if that does not resolve the matter, a complaint can be made to the Canadian Transportation Agency.
Some of the complaints the Agency receives are about the failure to provide services that remove undue obstacles. Another category of complaints, perhaps less obvious to those without disabilities, happens when the airline refuses to accept the passenger's word about the extent of their own abilities. This sometimes leads to the airline insisting that the passenger needs a service, and then charging them for providing it.
To avoid such a situation, it is important to communicate clearly at all stages of the process. One of the things a passenger with disabilities is entitled to is written confirmation of the services the airline will provide. If there is some area where you do not require services – e.g. if you are an occasional home oxygen user who will not require oxygen aboard the aircraft – it would be good to try and have the "not" confirmed in writing as well. Medical documentation may be required to establish the full extent of the passenger's abilities if there is any reason for the airline to have doubt.
This is what the CTA's summary of the Regulation says about who should determine a passenger's abilities:
"Accepting a passenger's judgment
Sometimes, people with disabilities are perceived as needing extra services when in fact they do not. An air carrier is obliged to accept a person's word that he or she does not require any extra assistance or other service."
For more information about the Canadian Transportation Agency please call:
(819) 997-6828 or 1-888-222-2592.
TTY (819) 953-9705 or 1-800-669-5575.
Correspondence may be addressed to:
Accessible Transportation Directorate
Canadian Transportation Agency
Ottawa ON K1A 0N9
