Air Canada ordered to pay 2 passengers $2,000 after their flight was delayed by 16 hours due to crew shortages rather than 'safety' issues

• Air Canada was ordered to pay a mother and son $2,000 after a crew shortage caused a 16-hour delay.
• The airline said the delay was safety-related, but the CTA said it was within Air Canada's control.

A flight regulator ordered Air Canada to pay two passengers $1,000 each after a crew shortage caused a 16-hour delay to their flight.

The Canadian Transportation Agency ruled in favor of Lisa Crawford and her son last month after the pair was severely delayed on a trip last year in a ruling that could affect thousands of cases linked to Air Canada delays caused by staff shortages.

Crawford and her son were traveling from Fort St. John in British Columbia to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in August 2021, but were rebooked on a flight almost 12 hours later than scheduled, before facing further delays to other connecting flights.

Air Canada told the pair that the delay was linked to crew constraints resulting from the pandemic, and they were ineligible for compensation as this was a safety-related.

However, the CTA sided with Crawford, who formally complained after failing to find a resolution with Air Canada.

"In the absence of evidence establishing that the crew shortage was unavoidable despite proper planning, or demonstrating that the cancellation was not the result of the respondent's actions or inactions, the Agency finds that the cancellation of the applicants' flight from Fort St. John to Vancouver was within the respondent's control," the CTA said in its statement.

Last month, Canadian outlets reported how Air Canada was avoiding compensating passengers by classifying staffing shortages as a "safety problem".

In an email to CBC, Crawford said "staffing and other aspects of operations are the employer's responsibility to manage" and that she was "thrilled" with the CTA's decision.

The ruling could have widespread implications for Air Canada's own contentious policy following a summer of travel chaos that left an unknown amount of passengers in similar circumstances.

Thousands of planes faced cancellations and delays in recent months, with several linked to crew shortages caused by the pandemic.

"Given the ongoing disagreement on how the regulations are to be interpreted and/or applied, I believe the real outcome for my case and likely many others, remains to be seen," Crawford told CBC.

Air Canada didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.