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Air Passenger Rights in Canada (APPR)

APPR applies to flights to, from, and within Canada, including connecting flights. Your rights fall into three separate categories: assistance while you wait, rebooking or a refund, and compensation for inconvenience.

The cause matters. Weather and air-traffic control issues usually do not qualify for cash, meals, or a hotel under APPR, although rebooking or refund rights can still apply.

Disruption Length*Compensation Range
3 to under 6 hours late$125–$400 CAD
6 to under 9 hours late$250–$700 CAD
9 hours or more late$500–$1,000 CAD

*Disruption length is scheduled vs actual arrival at your final destination — not gate wait time. Compensation does not include expense reimbursement (meals, hotel), which may be owed in addition.

Major Canadian Airport Disruptions From the Last Week.

In the last 7 days, 77 tracked flights met the three-hour arrival threshold across major Canadian airports (including Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal). Their potential APPR compensation bands total $33,750. Across all tracked disruptions, that represents 395.5 total delay hours and 0 cancellations requiring individual review. Final eligibility still depends on the cause of each disruption.

Major Canadian Airports · Disruptions

Start a claim from one of the flights below.

Flight Date
Scheduled
Airline
Flight
From
To
Delay
Aug 2207:44WestJetWS731TorontoVancouver4h 52mSee if you're owed up to $400Aug 22, flight WS731 from Toronto to Vancouver, scheduled 07:44, delay 4h 52m. See if you're owed up to $400. Start a claim for this flight.
Aug 2207:30WestJet EncoreWR3739CalgaryCalgary5h 52mSee if you're owed up to $400Aug 22, flight WR3739 from Calgary to Calgary, scheduled 07:30, delay 5h 52m. See if you're owed up to $400. Start a claim for this flight.
Aug 2207:15WestJetWS137CalgaryVancouver5h 10mSee if you're owed up to $400Aug 22, flight WS137 from Calgary to Vancouver, scheduled 07:15, delay 5h 10m. See if you're owed up to $400. Start a claim for this flight.
Aug 2207:01Air CanadaAC313MontrealVancouver3h 43mSee if you're owed up to $400Aug 22, flight AC313 from Montreal to Vancouver, scheduled 07:01, delay 3h 43m. See if you're owed up to $400. Start a claim for this flight.
Aug 2206:30Air CanadaAC131TorontoVancouver3h 36mSee if you're owed up to $400Aug 22, flight AC131 from Toronto to Vancouver, scheduled 06:30, delay 3h 36m. See if you're owed up to $400. Start a claim for this flight.
Last Updated Aug 23, 2026, 1:01 p.m. UTC

What APPR Actually Means for You

The Air Passenger Protection Regulations are federal rules that apply to flights to, from, and within Canada. Airlines must follow minimum standards for communication, care while you wait, rebooking or refunds, and cash compensation in many delay, cancellation, and denied-boarding situations.

Think of three separate buckets. Depending on the cause and length of the disruption, you may receive one, two, or all three:

  • Assistance: food, drink, communication access, and sometimes a hotel with transportation
  • Rebooking or refund: alternate travel to your destination or, in qualifying cases, your money back
  • Compensation: fixed APPR payments when a disruption was within the airline's control, not required for safety, and meets the other eligibility rules

While You Wait: Meals, Hotels, and Updates

If a delay or cancellation is within the airline's control, including when required for safety, assistance is required when you were notified less than 12 hours before departure and have waited at least two hours after the original departure time.

The airline must provide reasonable food and drink and access to communication. If an overnight wait becomes necessary, it must offer reasonable accommodation and transportation to and from it. Airlines must also provide status updates at least every 30 minutes until a new departure time or travel arrangement is confirmed.

Cash Compensation for Long Delays

Compensation applies when the disruption was fully within the airline's control and not required for safety, you were notified 14 days or less before departure, and you reached your final destination at least three hours late. Claims must be made in writing within one year.

Large-airline payments are $400, $700, or $1,000 per passenger; small-airline payments are $125, $250, or $500. The amount depends on your arrival delay. See the full delay compensation breakdown.

Cancellations and Denied Boarding

Cancelled flight: the airline must provide alternate travel arrangements once the APPR rebooking rules are triggered. A refund can apply if the arrangements offered do not meet the rules or if the disruption is within airline control and you no longer need to travel.

Denied boarding (bumped): if you are involuntarily bumped for a reason within airline control and not required for safety, compensation is $900 for an arrival delay under 6 hours, $1,800 for 6 to under 9 hours, and $2,400 for 9 hours or more. Payment is due as soon as operationally possible and no later than 48 hours after you are denied boarding.

Tarmac Delays

During a tarmac delay, the airline must provide working lavatories, ventilation or heating, food and drink in reasonable quantities, and a way to communicate when feasible. Medical assistance must be provided if needed.

At a Canadian airport, passengers must generally have an opportunity to leave the aircraft after three hours. The plane may remain for up to 45 more minutes when takeoff is likely and assistance continues, with exceptions for safety, security, customs, and air-traffic control.

Improve Your Chances of a Successful Claim

  1. Ask the airline for the disruption reason and your available assistance, rebooking, or refund options
  2. Keep your booking reference, boarding pass, notices, receipts, and notes about what the airline said
  3. After travel, calculate the arrival delay at your final destination and submit any compensation claim in writing

A strong claim clearly identifies the flight, the final-arrival delay, and the airline's stated reason, with supporting notices and receipts where available. Submit it in writing within one year and keep proof of submission. The airline has 30 days to pay or explain its refusal; if you disagree or receive no response, you can complain to the Canadian Transportation Agency.

Think the airline owes you compensation? Start your claim with TripFix now. In chat, Goose collects your story and booking documents, checks available flight records, provides a preliminary estimate of what may be owed, and prepares a claim brief for you to review and authorize. Once complete, your file is submitted to TripFix for human review. Starting and assessment are free; if your claim proceeds, there is no fee unless compensation is recovered.

Not Sure If You Qualify?

Start with TripFix by telling Goose what happened and uploading your booking confirmation or itinerary. Goose checks available flight records and prepares a claim brief for you to review. Starting and assessment are free; if your claim proceeds, there is no fee unless compensation is recovered.

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