Air Canada planes sit on the tarmac at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. The Canadian Transportation Agency says it's issued a penalty to Air Canada for violating the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)
The Canadian Transportation Agency has imposed a penalty of $97,500 on Air Canada for violating the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations. The penalty is a result of multiple breaches of these regulations.
Specifically, on August 30, Air Canada neglected to assist a passenger who used a wheelchair in disembarking the aircraft. The passenger, affected by spastic cerebral palsy and unable to move his legs, was compelled to disembark without assistance. Furthermore, the agency notes that Air Canada failed to ensure regular check-ins for the passenger while he awaited assistance in the terminal.
In November, Air Canada publicly acknowledged its violation of Canadian disability regulations and issued an apology to a man from British Columbia. This passenger had experienced the distressing situation of having to navigate disembarkation independently from a flight in Las Vegas during the summer.
