Air Transat slammed, fined for handling of hours-long tarmac delay
OTTAWA — Air Transat failed its passengers during a sweltering, hours-long ordeal aboard two of its grounded aircraft this summer, a federal agency ruled Thursday as it fined the airline $295,000 and ordered it to cover the out-of-pocket expenses of affected passengers.
The Canadian Transportation Agency is ordering the airline to tighten its rules about when passengers are allowed off planes during delays, ensure there are working bathrooms, provide medical services when needed, and ensure its pilots know the wording in the tariff agreements.
The airline will pay $295,000 to the 590 passengers who were aboard the two flights, over and above their out-of-pocket expenses incurred because of the delay. The payments have to be made by late May.
Thursday’s report comes four months after the two flights — one from Rome, the other from Brussels — sat on the tarmac in Ottawa for almost five and six hours, respectively, with passengers not allowed to disembark.