Couple refused refund for canceling reservation on already canceled pandemic flight

Four years after hundreds of thousands of flights were canceled during the pandemic, debate remains over whether or not airlines should refund passengers.

And even with changes to regulations requiring refunds when flights are canceled for reasons beyond the airlines’ control, including the pandemic, some Canadians are still seeing their refund requests rejected.

According to an article from The Canadian Press, a recent decision by the regulator concluded that a couple would not receive a refund because they canceled their reservation for 2020 when the airline had already canceled the flight.

In a confidential decision obtained by The Canadian Press, an agency complaints resolution officer said the two passengers were only entitled to a voucher because of their choice to cancel their reservation with WestJet.

“Although WestJet has announced a route suspension, this does not change the terms and conditions of the ticket when the passenger first initiates the cancellation,” the agent wrote in the Dec. 28 document obtained by The Canadian Press.

But those terms, available on the company’s website, specify that, in these circumstances, the customer “will be refunded” to the original method of payment, unless they agree to an alternate travel itinerary.

The couple in question asked to remain anonymous due to legal issues, but described the situation to The Canadian Press as a “nightmare” and said they were still missing about $4,000.

For us, this is not a small amount,” one of them said.

“How do I cancel a flight that has been canceled? »

The couple also stressed that the length of the complaint process weighed on them.

The two men initially filed their complaint with the regulator in March 2022 and say they did not receive a decision until January 2024.

The backlog of complaints at the agency reached about 71,000 at the end of April.

WestJet did not respond to questions about this matter.

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