Advertiser disclosure
Advertisers are not responsible for the content of this site, including any editorial or review that may be published on it. For complete and up-to-date information about any product featured, please visit their website. We maintain business relationships with certain partners mentioned in our communication tools. While we may receive compensation if you sign up for a product or service through our affiliate links, our reviews and content are based on an objective assessment. Value estimates are established by Milesopedia and are not provided, endorsed, or verified by the issuing financial institutions. †*Terms and conditions apply.
Do you know your rights as an air passenger? I’ll try to walk you through them, whether you’re travelling from Canada or from the European Union.
Want to better protect yourself (and pay less) on your next trips? Check out our selection of the best travel credit cards.
While not as extensive as those in the European Union, air passenger rights do exist in Canada.
Since the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) came into force in 2019, and were later strengthened in 2022 and 2023, Canadian passengers’ rights are now codified and precise. Passengers no longer have vague recourse: fixed compensation amounts are set based on the length of the delay.
For large airlines (Air Canada, WestJet, Air Transat, etc.), if the delay or cancellation is within the airline’s control (and not due to exceptional circumstances like weather or safety):
In the event of denied boarding (overbooking) within the airline’s control:
For lost or damaged baggage, the airline must reimburse you up to approximately $2,500 CA (€1,600 under the Montreal Convention).
New amendments to the APPR are currently being finalized. Published for consultation in December 2024, they aim to further simplify the rules and clarify airline obligations in cases of exceptional circumstances. The final regulation is expected sometime in 2026.
The airline has 30 days to respond to your compensation claim, and you have one year to file your claim after the incident.
For situations beyond the airline’s control (extreme weather, air traffic controller strikes, etc.), there’s no fixed financial compensation, but the airline must still rebook you or refund you.
The size of the airline is indicated in your ticket’s conditions of carriage. Small regional carriers are subject to reduced compensation amounts (e.g., $125 CA for a delay of 3 to 6 hours).
Here are the web pages for the main rights:
First and foremost, you need to try to reach an arrangement with your airline. Here’s the site where you’ll find the list of customer service contacts for the major airlines serving Canada.
If after 30 days you haven’t received a satisfactory response from the airline, you can turn to the Canadian Transportation Agency. Since 2023, an Air Travel Complaints Resolution Office has been set up to process claims more quickly.
If you haven’t obtained satisfaction after 30 days, it’s time to escalate your case to the Canadian Transportation Agency. You’ll find the complaint forms for the Canadian Transportation Agency on this site.
You can also reach the Canadian Transportation Agency at 1-888-222-2592. They only handle the “air transportation” portion of your trip.
If you had an issue with “ground services,” you’ll need to contact one of the provincial or territorial government bodies that handle traveller complaints.
If you booked your trip through a Quebec travel agency, you may be covered by the “Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents” — here’s the website.
To find out if this applies to you, you can contact the OPC at 1-888-672-2556.
Air passenger rights in the United States are considerably more limited than those in Canada or the European Union. There’s no single law equivalent to Canada’s APPR or the EU’s Regulation EC 261/2004: the United States has no true federal “Passenger Bill of Rights,” and Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations don’t include a right to compensation for most flight delays or cancellations.
In the United States, airlines aren’t legally required to pay you financial compensation for a flight delay, regardless of its length. What has applied since 2024, however, is the right to a refund: if your flight is cancelled or significantly delayed (3 hours or more for a domestic flight, 6 hours or more for an international flight) and you choose not to travel, the airline must automatically refund you.
For meals, hotels, or other expenses caused by a delay, there’s no federal regulation requiring the airline to reimburse you: it’s entirely up to the airline’s customer service discretion.
In November 2025, the Trump administration officially withdrew a proposed rule that would have required airlines to financially compensate passengers for controllable delays or cancellations. Democratic senators introduced the Flight Delay and Cancellation Compensation Act in December 2025 to try to restore these protections, but the bill has not yet passed.
This is where American rights are strongest. If an airline involuntarily denies you boarding on an overbooked flight departing from a US airport, and it can’t get you to your destination within one hour of your original arrival time, you’re entitled to compensation.
Since January 22, 2025, the amounts have been revised upward: up to $1,075 US if you arrive at your destination with a delay of 1 to 2 hours (domestic flights) or 1 to 4 hours (international flights), and up to $2,150 US for a longer delay. These amounts correspond to 200% or 400% of your one-way fare, capped at these maximums. Precise details are available on the Federal Register website.
If the airline offers you an alternative that arrives within one hour of your original arrival time, no compensation is owed.
These rights apply to all flights departing from a US airport, regardless of the airline’s or passenger’s nationality.
For lost or damaged baggage on a US domestic flight, the airline is liable up to a cap periodically revised by the DOT, currently around $3,800 US. For international flights, the Montreal Convention applies (approximately €1,600).
The European Union goes much further in protecting air travellers.
The European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a provisional agreement on June 15, 2026, on the reform of Regulation EC 261/2004. The good news is that the 3-hour delay threshold is being kept, along with compensation amounts of €250 to €600.
Improvements are planned, notably regarding rerouting, fare transparency, and protection for vulnerable passengers. These new rules still need to be formally adopted and won’t come into force until 2027. The current rules described below therefore still apply to your flights.
Your air passenger rights apply:
If you’re denied boarding, or if your flight is cancelled or overbooked, you’re entitled to:
If your flight is delayed by at least 5 hours, you can also request a refund (the airline is then no longer required to assist you).
In all cases, the airline must inform you of your rights and explain why your flight was cancelled or delayed (for any delay of more than 2 hours, or 4 hours for flights over 3,500 km).
This is the most interesting part because… it’s concrete!
You can be compensated in 4 scenarios:
To be compensated, it must not be due to exceptional circumstances beyond the airline’s control.
For delays and cancellations, compensation ranges from €250 to €600 depending on the flight distance:
Within the EU
Between an airport in the EU and an airport outside the EU
Example: Your Paris–Montreal flight arrives 3.5 hours late in Montreal, you’re then entitled to compensation of €600!
N.B.: For North America – EU flights, the airline must be European for compensation to apply. So Air Transat or Air Canada are exempt from this obligation on that route. However, in the other direction, they are required to compensate you!
For lost, damaged, or delayed baggage, the airline is liable and must pay compensation of up to approximately €1,600 (a cap periodically revised under the Montreal Convention).
First, you’ll need to contact the airline by sending it an “EU air passenger rights complaint form,” which you can download on this page.
These are procedures you can handle yourself.
AirHelp takes care of everything: you provide the problematic flights and some information about yourself, and the company will pursue the compensation owed to you.
You can also have AirHelp scan your emails to see if other past flights could entitle you to compensation!
If you don’t get a satisfactory response from the airline, you’ll need to turn to the competent national body of the EU country where the incident occurred (or the country you were travelling to).
You’ll find the list of these bodies on this page.
You’ll find all the answers to your questions on this page.
As you can see, if you’re travelling to or from the European Union, it’s best to fly with an EU airline to be nearly certain of obtaining compensation if something goes wrong.
Don’t hesitate to check your credit card insurance, which in many cases covers expenses caused by flight delays or cancellations.
To be well covered before your next departure, check out our selection of the best travel credit cards.
With this welcome offer for the Scotiabank PassportMC Visa Infinite +* Card, you get up to 60,000 Scene+ points as a welcome bonus (a $600 value):
Then, each year, if you charge at least $40,000 in purchases to the card, you’ll earn an annual bonus of at least 10,000 points, representing a $100 value.
With the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card, you earn 3 points per dollar spent at Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Voilà by Sobeys, Voilà by IGA, Voilà by Safeway, Chalo! FreshCo, Thrifty Foods, IGA West, Les Marchés Tradition, Rachelle Béry, and Co-Op grocery stores.
You also earn 2 points per dollar spent, including on purchases made abroad, in the following categories:
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card is an excellent Visa credit card for these types of purchases.
These points can be redeemed for any travel purchase at a rate of 1,000 points = $10 (flights, hotels, all-inclusive packages, even Airbnb). You can also redeem your points as cash back with Scene+, for example at your grocery store checkout, at the same rate of 1,000 points = $10.
The Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite +* Card also offers:
We named this credit card the Best No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Card in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Savings this way:
You can change your preferences or unsubscribe at any time by clicking one of the links available at the bottom of each newsletter.
If you are already subscribed and would like to unsubscribe, you can click the link at the bottom of one of our emails.
