Federal Court of Appeal upholds decision to boost accessibility at Air Canada

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MONTREAL — The Federal Court of Appeal is upholding a decision by the country’s transport regulator that aims to boost accessibility for air travellers living with a disability.

A judicial tribunal has dismissed an appeal by Air Canada that sought to overturn a requirement to fully accommodate passengers whose wheelchairs are too large to fit through the cargo doors of some aircraft.

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The ruling Friday marks the culmination of a case that has dragged on since 2016, when Tim Rose was told his power wheelchair would not fit on an aircraft, preventing him from travelling to Ohio as planned.

After a series of decisions, the Canadian Transportation Agency ruled in 2023 that Air Canada must either find passengers with disabilities a similar flight on a comparable route or swap in a plane that is capable of carrying the mobility device.

Air Canada appealed the swap-in requirement last year, but Justice Wyman Webb wrote last week the appeal court had no jurisdiction to review whether the provision caused the airline “undue hardship.”

Air Canada said last year it accepted most of the agency’s orders to remove barriers, including the obligation to find a plane that takes off within a day of the desired travel date, as long as the customer makes the request three weeks in advance.