Snow and ice season is starting. A storm may pass in a day, but a disrupted airline schedule can take longer to recover. This post looks at that second day, when the flight that gets cancelled is not the one that flew into the storm, and the reason the airline gives is worth a closer look.
Weather on the day of the storm
The CTA lists extreme weather among the causes outside the airline’s control.1 Under the regulation, weather counts as outside the airline’s control when it makes safe operation impossible.2 The CTA says that for cancellations caused by events outside its control, the airline does not have to pay compensation, but it must communicate clearly and give timely updates.3
The airline must still rebook you on its own or a partner’s next available flight leaving within 48 hours of your original departure.4 If it can’t, a large airline must rebook you on any airline’s flight, including from a nearby airport, while a small airline must rebook you on its own or a partner’s next available flight.4 If it can’t confirm a seat on its own or a partner’s flight leaving within 48 hours, you can choose a refund of the unused part of your ticket instead, at any time before you are given a confirmed reservation.5
For causes outside the airline’s control, the regulation sets no meal or hotel obligations, though the airline’s own terms may offer more.6 If your trip is international and you arrive late, the Montreal Convention can cover losses caused by that delay, unless the airline proves it took all measures that could reasonably be required to avoid them, or that this was impossible.7
The day after: a worked example
Imagine a snowstorm shuts down your departure airport on a Tuesday evening. Your flight on Wednesday morning, after the storm has passed, is cancelled too, and the message says weather. The useful question then is not whether Tuesday’s storm was outside the airline’s control. It is what caused Wednesday’s cancellation. Weather or airport problems that continue into Wednesday can still be outside the airline’s control.2
A disruption directly caused by an earlier one takes the earlier event’s category, but only if the airline took all reasonable measures to limit its effects.8 So if the Wednesday flight was cancelled because the plane or crew were still out of position after the storm, the question becomes whether the airline did everything reasonable to recover.8 And if the real cause was something within the airline’s control, such as staffing schedules or aircraft choice, the cash compensation rules can apply.9 Rebooking rules change too: within its control, a large airline that can’t rebook you on its own or a partner’s flight within 9 hours must look to other airlines.10
If the cause was within the airline’s control and not required for safety, you were told 14 days or less before departure, and you claim before the first anniversary of the disruption, a large airline owes $400 for arriving 3 to under 6 hours late at the destination on your original ticket, $700 for 6 to under 9 hours and $1,000 for 9 hours or more.91112131415 On a small airline the amounts for those bands are $125, $250 and $500.131415911 If the cause was within the airline’s control and not required for safety, you were told 14 days or less before departure, you took a refund because rebooking didn’t meet your travel needs, and you claim before the first anniversary of the disruption, a large airline owes $400 and a small one $125.1691112 A refund for a cause outside the airline’s control, like the one on the storm day, doesn’t come with this payment.52
Which of these applies to your flight is not something you can always tell at the airport. The CTA says you might only get a full answer after your trip, after contacting the airline, or after filing a complaint with the CTA.17 That is why the details you note down on the day matter.
What to note down
- The exact words of each message about your flight, saved as a screenshot, email or text, in case it later disappears from the app.
- Whether the airline blamed weather at your airport, weather somewhere else, or an earlier flight.
- When you were rebooked, and on which flight. The CTA suggests keeping track of how much time has passed since your original departure time.18
- The airline’s status updates. During a delay, the CTA says status must be updated every 30 minutes until a new departure time is confirmed or you are rebooked.19
A note with the times you were told things, and what you were told, is easier to write on the day than to rebuild months later.
If the reason doesn’t add up
If you think your cancellation or delay was within the airline’s control, send your request to the airline in writing before the first anniversary of the day of the disruption.12 The airline must then pay or explain why compensation isn’t payable within 30 days.20 If your written request isn’t resolved within 30 days, you can file a complaint with the CTA.21
If a winter flight of yours was cancelled or delayed, the free check shows whether you may be owed money for your own flight, based on the cause and how late you arrived.913 Our guide to the airline’s reason explains the three categories of cause, and cancellations covers rebooking and refunds in more detail.224