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The federal transportation agency says Air Transat failed the 590 hapless passengers who were confined inside two planes that sat more than four hours on a hot tarmac in Ottawa.
In a report issued Tuesday, the Canadian Transportation Agency fined the Montreal-based airline $295,000, for not living up to its contractual obligations to passengers during this summer’s travel nightmare.
That contract, known as a “tariff agreement,” gives passengers the right to deplane after a 90 minute tarmac delay with the captain’s approval, the agency said.
Although that agreement gives broad discretion to a captain in such circumstances, that discretion “cannot equate ignorance or inaction,” the agency ruled.
Air Transat Flight 507 from Rome spent four hours, 47 minutes on the tarmac at Ottawa International Airport, while Air Transat Flight 157 from Brussels stayed on the ground for five hour and 51 minutes. Both planes were destined for Montreal when they were diverted to Ottawa because of bad weather on July 31st.
The agency found that neither aircraft commander was aware of the obligation to offer passengers the chance to disembark after a 90-minute tarmac delay.
“There is no evidence on record that either aircraft commander actively considered disembarking in accordance with the tariff,” concluded the report.
Scott Streiner, chief executive officer of the transportation agency, said the decision — a quasi-judicial ruling known as a “determination” — holds significance for both passengers and airlines. “It underscores that passengers have rights and recourse when their air travel is disrupted,” he said, “and that even when problems stem from events such as bad weather, there is a minimum standard of treatment to which all passengers are entitled.”
The agency rejected the airline’s contention that “chaotic, exceptional and unusual” circumstances were responsible for the delays.
It said those factors did not relieve Air Transat from obligations to its customers, and it ordered the airline to cover any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by passengers because of the situation.
It also ordered Air Transat to ensure flight crews and other employees are aware of the legal obligations imposed by its tariff.
During the mid-summer ordeal, passengers became so frustrated by the seemingly endless delays that one claustrophobic traveller dialled 911. A child vomited in the aisle, while other passengers complained they were suffocating. The planes ran low on supplies of food, water and toilet paper as passengers issued pictures of their captivity on social media. The flight director on one plane worried about a riot breaking out.
“It was like being trapped in an elevator,” said Marc Jetté, the civil servant whose desperate phone call brought Ottawa police to the scene.
The transportation agency said passengers should have been given the choice to disembark.
Air Transat’s international tariff stipulates: “If the passenger is already on the aircraft when a delay occurs, the carrier will offer drinks and snacks if it is safe, practical and timely to do so. If the delay exceeds 90 minutes and the aircraft commander permits it, the carrier will offer passengers the option of disembarking from the aircraft until it is time to depart.”
The transportation agency ordered Air Transat to revise that agreement to make it more definitive, and to require captains to deplane passengers after four hours.
The transportation agency, an independent tribunal, provides consumer protection for air passengers while also working to ensure the smooth operation of Canada’s transportation system.
It held a two-day public hearing in late August to examine the circumstances and decisions that led to the debacle that unfolded at the Ottawa airport.
That afternoon, intense thunderstorms unexpectedly closed ground operations at airports in Toronto and Montreal.
As a result, 20 commercial flights were diverted to Ottawa, which meant that the airport had to manage both the increased traffic and 88 regularly scheduled arrivals and departures. Among the diverted flights was a massive Emirates Airbus A380 that the airport normally does not accommodate.
Planes were parked all over the tarmac. Four Air Transat flights, including 507 and 157, were parked in a section of runway south of the terminal, and as a result, it took more than 90 minutes to arrange to have them brought near Hangar 14 where they could be refueled.
By that time, one of the planes — Flight 157 from Brussels — was completely out of fuel, which caused the air ventilation system to shut down and the cabin to darken. Emergency power was restored after 10 minutes, but the plane had trouble restarting after it was refuelled.
Further delays were encountered when police and paramedics boarded the plane in response to the 911 call.
Air Transat had told the agency that the delays were the product of a series of unfortunate events largely out of its control. Airline officials told the agency that “creeping delay” and unreliable information given to pilots led them to believe that their departures were imminent.
“It must be said very clearly that, had we known from the start the delay would be so long, we would have made different decisions,” Transat vice-president Christophe Hennebelle told the hearing.
The hearing was told that each airline contracts with a ground services company to provide food, fuel and baggage handling services. The airport authority provides the infrastructure for those services to be delivered.
Air Transat had a deal with First Air to provide ground services, but it wasn’t staffed to handle the sudden influx of airline customers.
查看原文...
In a report issued Tuesday, the Canadian Transportation Agency fined the Montreal-based airline $295,000, for not living up to its contractual obligations to passengers during this summer’s travel nightmare.
That contract, known as a “tariff agreement,” gives passengers the right to deplane after a 90 minute tarmac delay with the captain’s approval, the agency said.
Although that agreement gives broad discretion to a captain in such circumstances, that discretion “cannot equate ignorance or inaction,” the agency ruled.
Air Transat Flight 507 from Rome spent four hours, 47 minutes on the tarmac at Ottawa International Airport, while Air Transat Flight 157 from Brussels stayed on the ground for five hour and 51 minutes. Both planes were destined for Montreal when they were diverted to Ottawa because of bad weather on July 31st.
The agency found that neither aircraft commander was aware of the obligation to offer passengers the chance to disembark after a 90-minute tarmac delay.
“There is no evidence on record that either aircraft commander actively considered disembarking in accordance with the tariff,” concluded the report.
Scott Streiner, chief executive officer of the transportation agency, said the decision — a quasi-judicial ruling known as a “determination” — holds significance for both passengers and airlines. “It underscores that passengers have rights and recourse when their air travel is disrupted,” he said, “and that even when problems stem from events such as bad weather, there is a minimum standard of treatment to which all passengers are entitled.”
The agency rejected the airline’s contention that “chaotic, exceptional and unusual” circumstances were responsible for the delays.
It said those factors did not relieve Air Transat from obligations to its customers, and it ordered the airline to cover any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by passengers because of the situation.
It also ordered Air Transat to ensure flight crews and other employees are aware of the legal obligations imposed by its tariff.
During the mid-summer ordeal, passengers became so frustrated by the seemingly endless delays that one claustrophobic traveller dialled 911. A child vomited in the aisle, while other passengers complained they were suffocating. The planes ran low on supplies of food, water and toilet paper as passengers issued pictures of their captivity on social media. The flight director on one plane worried about a riot breaking out.
“It was like being trapped in an elevator,” said Marc Jetté, the civil servant whose desperate phone call brought Ottawa police to the scene.
The transportation agency said passengers should have been given the choice to disembark.
Air Transat’s international tariff stipulates: “If the passenger is already on the aircraft when a delay occurs, the carrier will offer drinks and snacks if it is safe, practical and timely to do so. If the delay exceeds 90 minutes and the aircraft commander permits it, the carrier will offer passengers the option of disembarking from the aircraft until it is time to depart.”
The transportation agency ordered Air Transat to revise that agreement to make it more definitive, and to require captains to deplane passengers after four hours.
The transportation agency, an independent tribunal, provides consumer protection for air passengers while also working to ensure the smooth operation of Canada’s transportation system.
It held a two-day public hearing in late August to examine the circumstances and decisions that led to the debacle that unfolded at the Ottawa airport.
That afternoon, intense thunderstorms unexpectedly closed ground operations at airports in Toronto and Montreal.
As a result, 20 commercial flights were diverted to Ottawa, which meant that the airport had to manage both the increased traffic and 88 regularly scheduled arrivals and departures. Among the diverted flights was a massive Emirates Airbus A380 that the airport normally does not accommodate.
Planes were parked all over the tarmac. Four Air Transat flights, including 507 and 157, were parked in a section of runway south of the terminal, and as a result, it took more than 90 minutes to arrange to have them brought near Hangar 14 where they could be refueled.
By that time, one of the planes — Flight 157 from Brussels — was completely out of fuel, which caused the air ventilation system to shut down and the cabin to darken. Emergency power was restored after 10 minutes, but the plane had trouble restarting after it was refuelled.
Further delays were encountered when police and paramedics boarded the plane in response to the 911 call.
Air Transat had told the agency that the delays were the product of a series of unfortunate events largely out of its control. Airline officials told the agency that “creeping delay” and unreliable information given to pilots led them to believe that their departures were imminent.
“It must be said very clearly that, had we known from the start the delay would be so long, we would have made different decisions,” Transat vice-president Christophe Hennebelle told the hearing.
The hearing was told that each airline contracts with a ground services company to provide food, fuel and baggage handling services. The airport authority provides the infrastructure for those services to be delivered.
Air Transat had a deal with First Air to provide ground services, but it wasn’t staffed to handle the sudden influx of airline customers.
查看原文...
