Air Transat, regulator sued over stranded passengers

MONTREAL — An air passenger rights advocate is suing the Canadian Transportation Agency and Air Transat over decisions related to incidents last summer that left hundreds of passengers stranded on the tarmac for hours.

Gabor Lukacs is asking the Federal Court of Appeal in Halifax to overturn the regulator’s decision in November to waive the $295,000 fine it imposed after finding the Montreal-based airline had committed several violations of transportation rules.

Lukacs said the fine was just a “slap on the wrist” that is far below the level included in its enforcement manual.

“The penalty is unfit and unreasonable in light of the seriousness of the violations, the extreme suffering they have caused to passengers,” said the 12-page application.

In his application, Lukacs said the administrative penalty amounted to just five per cent of the maximum available fine even though the regulator found Air Transat committed 590 violations that captured international attention.

By waiving the fine, money owed to the government is diverted to passengers as compensation.

Lukacs wants the penalty overturned and sent back to the CTA for reassessment. He is also asking the court to rule that the regulator doesn’t have the authority to waive penalties for violations.

Nearly 600 passengers were kept on board two flights arriving from Europe that were diverted to the Ottawa airport on July 31 due to bad weather.

Passengers were trapped aboard the jets for about five hours.