Numerous travellers headed on flights to or from Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport (YYZ) on Monday, Feb. 17 faced delays and cancellations following a plane crash.
A Delta Air Lines plane heading from Minneapolis to Toronto crashed and flipped on the tarmac at Pearson airport on Monday afternoon, injuring multiple passengers.
Pearson airport authorities say the wreckage of the Delta plane is expected to remain on the runway for the next 48 hours as investigators try to piece together the cause of the crash.
Greater Toronto Airports Authority President and CEO Deborah Flint told reporters that the airport is in "recovery mode" after hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed because of the crash and two winter storms that hit the region in the days leading up to it.
YYZ crew are moving aircraft "safely, and as quickly as possible," on limited runway availability and configuration, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Compensation for cancelled Vancouver flights
Vancouver International Airport (YVR) commented on the incident in a post on X, advising travellers that flights may continue to be delayed or cancelled over the next 24 hours. Air passengers should check their flight status directly with their airline or online with YVR before they leave for the airport.
YVR authorities added that weather in other destinations is also impacting flights in and out of the Vancouver airport.
Air Passenger Rights founder and president Gabor Lukacs always advises air passengers to know their rights in the case of flight delays and cancellations. Airlines must pay passengers money under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) rules in some instances.
Lukacs said travellers are not owed any reimbursement for cancellations caused directly by the runway closure in Toronto. However, air passengers flying to or from the European Union on an EU airline are entitled to meals/accommodation as per EU air passenger rights legislation.
Under the APPR, the airline the customer is travelling with must rebook passengers on another flight on their airline or with a partner airline within 48 hours of the original departure time. If they cannot, their airline must buy a ticket from a competitor, "if that would be the fastest way to get the passenger to their destination," Lukacs noted.
Is a passenger owed money from the airline if they are injured on a flight?
Passengers suffering injuries from international flights may be entitled to compensation from the airline.
"The rights of passengers who suffer an accidental injury on board and international flights are governed by the Montreal Convention," Lukacs said.
"The airline has an absolute liability for their damages up to about CAD$282,000 per passenger -- 'absolute' means that the airline cannot relieve itself of liability."
Lukacs noted that the airline may avoid liability if it proves the damage was not due to negligence or a wrongful act or omission by its staff or its "servants or agents."
Alternatively, it may avoid liability if it can prove the damage was entirely due to a third party's "negligence or other wrongful act or omission."
Passengers must make claims under the Montreal Convention in writing to the airline.
With files from The Canadian Press.
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