Air Transportation Regulations (SOR/88-58)

• 148 (1) Subject to subsection (2) and section 151, an air carrier shall accept for carriage as priority baggage, without charge and in addition to the free baggage allowance permitted to a passenger, the following aids, where they are required for the mobility or well-being of a person:

  • (a) an electric wheelchair, a scooter or a manually operated rigid-frame wheelchair;

  • (b) a manually operated folding wheelchair;

  • (c) a walker, a cane, crutches or braces;

  • (d) any device that assists the person to communicate better; and

  • (e) any prosthesis or medical device.

• (2) Where an air carrier operates an aircraft that has fewer than 60 passenger seats and the design of the aircraft does not permit the carriage of a person’s aid referred to in paragraph (1)(a), the air carrier

  • (a) is not required to carry the aid; and

  • (b) shall advise the person about transportation arrangements that are available for the aid.

• (3) Subject to section 151, an air carrier shall permit a person in a manually operated wheelchair to remain in the wheelchair

  • (a) until the person reaches the boarding gate from which the person’s flight is to depart;

  • (b) where facilities permit, while the person is moving between the terminal and the door of the aircraft; or

  • (c) where space and facilities permit, while the person is moving between the terminal and the passenger seat.

• (4) Subject to subsection (5), an air carrier that accepts for carriage a person’s aid referred to in paragraph (1)(a), (b) or (c) shall, without charge,

  • (a) disassemble and package the aid;

  • (b) where the person has been required to board the aircraft in advance of other passengers pursuant to subsection 147(3), identify the aid as priority baggage;

  • (c) unpackage and reassemble the aid; and

  • (d) return the aid to the person promptly on arrival at the person’s destination.

• (5) Where space permits, an air carrier shall, without charge, permit a person who requires

  • (a) a wheelchair referred to in paragraph (1)(b) to store the wheelchair in the passenger cabin during the flight; and

  • (b) a small aid referred to in paragraph (1)(c), (d) or (e) to retain the aid in the person’s custody during the flight.

• 149 (1) Subject to section 151, an air carrier shall accept a service animal for carriage without charge if the animal is

  • (a) required by a person for assistance; and

  • (b) certified, in writing, as having been trained to assist a person by a professional service animal institution.

• (2) Where an air carrier accepts a service animal for carriage pursuant to subsection (1), the air carrier shall permit the animal, if the animal is properly harnessed in accordance with standards established by a professional service animal institution, to accompany the person on board the aircraft and to remain on the floor at the person’s passenger seat.

150 Where a person is in a wheelchair, boarding chair or any other device in which the person is not independently mobile, the air carrier shall inquire periodically about the needs of the person while the person is awaiting a flight after check-in or is in transit between flights and shall attend to those needs where the services required are usually provided by the air carrier, or where the services are required to be provided by the air carrier under this Part.

• 151 (1) Where a person requests a service set out in this Part at least 48 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the person’s flight, the air carrier shall provide the person with the service.

• (2) Where, at least 48 hours before the scheduled time of departure of a person’s flight, the person requests an additional service that is set out in an air carrier’s tariff, the air carrier shall provide the person with the service, in accordance with any conditions in respect of the service that are set out in the tariff.

• (3) Where a request for a service referred to in subsection (1) or (2) is not made within the time limit provided thereunder, the air carrier shall make a reasonable effort to provide the service.

• (4) Where a person who has requested from an air carrier a service referred to in subsection (1) or (2) must travel on a flight of another air carrier because of a flight cancellation or the substitution by the original air carrier of an aircraft that has fewer than 30 passenger seats, the original air carrier shall cooperate as much as is possible with the other air carrier in providing the requested service.

Administration

152 An air carrier shall

• (a) where the air carrier has facilities to do so, indicate in the record of a person’s reservation any services that the air carrier will provide to the person;

• (b) provide a person with a written confirmation of the services that the air carrier will provide to the person;

• (c) transmit the information referred to in paragraph (a) to the appropriate personnel of the air carrier and, where a person is changing to a flight of another air carrier, to the appropriate personnel of that other air carrier at any transfer point indicated on the person’s ticket and at the person’s final destination; and

• (d) make reasonable efforts to inform the air carrier’s agents of the requirements set out in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c).

• 153 (1) Where a person identifies the nature of that person’s disability, an air carrier shall, before assigning a passenger seat to that person, inform the person of those passenger seats in the aircraft to be used that are most accessible for that person.

• (2) Where an air carrier is capable of assigning passenger seats before a flight, accessible passenger seats shall be the last seats assigned to passengers without disabilities.

• (3) Where an air carrier is not capable of assigning passenger seats before a flight, the air carrier shall make a reasonable effort to ensure that accessible passenger seats are the last seats made available to passengers without disabilities.

154 An air carrier shall accept the determination made by or on behalf of a person that the person does not require any extraordinary service during a flight.

Damaged or Lost Aid

• 155 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), where an air carrier accepts a person’s aid referred to in paragraph 148(1)(a), (b) or (c) for carriage and the aid is damaged during carriage or is not available to the person upon the person’s arrival at the person’s destination, the air carrier shall, without charge, immediately provide the person with a suitable temporary replacement at the person’s destination.

• (2) Where an air carrier accepts a person’s aid referred to in paragraph 148(1)(a), (b) or (c) for carriage and the aid is damaged during carriage and can be repaired promptly and adequately, the air carrier shall, in addition to complying with subsection (1), forthwith arrange for the prompt and adequate repair of the aid at the air carrier’s expense and shall return it to the person at the air carrier’s expense as soon as possible.

• (3) Where an air carrier accepts a person’s aid referred to in paragraph 148(1)(a), (b) or (c) for carriage and the aid is damaged during carriage and cannot be repaired promptly and adequately or the air carrier cannot locate the aid within 96 hours after the person’s arrival at the person’s destination and return it promptly to the person, the air carrier shall, in addition to complying with subsection (1),

  • (a) replace the damaged or lost aid with an identical one satisfactory to the person; or

  • (b) notwithstanding the limits of liability respecting goods contained in any applicable tariff, reimburse the person for the full replacement cost of the aid.

• (4) Where an air carrier provides a person with a temporary replacement aid pursuant to subsection (1), that person shall continue to have the use of that aid

  • (a) until the time the person’s aid is returned to the person, where the aid is to be repaired pursuant to subsection (2); or

  • (b) until a reasonable period for the replacement of the aid has elapsed, where the air carrier has taken steps to replace a damaged or lost aid or has reimbursed the person, pursuant to subsection (3).

Filing an Application for Inquiry

156 Where an air carrier receives a complaint in respect of the terms and conditions of carriage set out in this Part from or on behalf of a person and is unable to respond to the complaint to the satisfaction of the person, the air carrier shall promptly inform the person that the person may file an application for inquiry with the Agency pursuant to subsection 172(1) of the Act and any rules made pursuant to section 17 of the Act.