Couple denied compensation after alleging wrongdoing by Air Canada
A couple from BC filed a small claims case against Air Canada after claiming the carrier had wrongfully denied them boarding. Now, a civil resolution court has ruled that they will not be compensated for it — not fully, anyway.
Mia and Joel Mackoff were scheduled to fly out of Los Angeles to Vancouver via Air Canada on February 15, 2022. While they were queued up to board the plane, the airline checked their COVID-19 test results, and as a result, they did not end up on the flight, and instead had to spend the night in LA on their own dime.
On February 16, they flew out to BC through Air Canada.
The disgruntled customers filed a lawsuit and demanded $5,000 from Air Canada. However, due to a failure to provide “sufficient proof of loss, or mitigate their damages,” they only ended up getting the money they spent on one night of lodging in LA, and some court fees. The total amount Air Canada owes them is $774.81.
Court documents show that the Mackoffs had alleged that they were both refused boarding due to Mia’s COVID-19 test, which was carried out 10 days earlier.
Air Canada admitted to not boarding Mia due to a positive COVID-19 test but denied stopping Joel, who is a retired lawyer representing himself and his wife.
Tribunal member Sherelle Goodwin said that the couple was not eligible for the protections demanded in the case, in accordance with the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR). Compensation as such applies to those denied boarding due to ticket overbooking. The Mackoffs argued that the regulations do not use exclusionary terms such as “only” to define these limits.
“Based on Air Canada’s undisputed Netline printout, the February 15, 2022, flight left Los Angeles with 71 unoccupied seats. So, I find there was no denial of boarding to the applicants, within the APPR’s terms,” Goodwin said last week.
“As such, I find neither applicant is entitled to compensation for a denial of boarding under section 20 of the APPR.”
Follow Channels and Categories