Flight delay compensation in Canada: the APPR explained
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Under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), an airline must pay you compensation for a delay or cancellation only when the cause was within its control and not required for safety, and you arrive at your destination 3 hours or more late. A large airline then owes $400, $700 or $1,000, depending on how late you arrive. Whatever the cause, the airline still has to keep you informed and rebook you, and in most cases feed you while you wait.
These are the rules in force in September 2026. Amendments were proposed in December 2024 but hadn't been adopted, so the 2019 regulations, last amended in 2022, still apply. This isn't legal advice.
Does your flight qualify?
The APPR covers flights to, from and within Canada, including connecting flights. What you're owed depends on why the flight was disrupted:
| Cause | Examples | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Within the airline's control | Any cause that isn't in the two categories below | Information, standards of treatment, rebooking or refund, and compensation |
| Within its control but required for safety | Decisions required by law to reduce risk to passengers, including the pilot's safety decisions and decisions under the airline's safety management system | Information, standards of treatment, rebooking or refund; no compensation |
| Outside its control | Weather that makes flying unsafe, air traffic control instructions, security threats, airport operation issues, medical emergencies, collisions with wildlife, labour disruptions at the airline or an essential service provider | Information and rebooking or refund; no compensation |
Scheduled maintenance required by law doesn't count as "required for safety". A delay caused by an earlier disruption outside the airline's control is also treated as outside its control, if the airline took reasonable steps to limit it.
Compensation applies when you're told about the delay or cancellation 14 days or less before departure.
How much compensation
It's based on how late you arrive at the destination on your original ticket. "Arrival" means when the aircraft door opens after landing.
| Arrival delay | Large airline | Small airline |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to less than 6 hours | $400 | $125 |
| 6 to less than 9 hours | $700 | $250 |
| 9 hours or more | $1,000 | $500 |
- Large airline: one that carried 2 million passengers or more worldwide in each of the two previous years. Every other airline is a small airline.
- Refund instead of travel: if you choose a refund, you still get $400 from a large airline or $125 from a small one.
- Money, not points: compensation is paid in money unless the airline offers something of greater value that doesn't expire and you agree in writing.
Food, hotels and rebooking
- Food and drink in reasonable quantities and a way to communicate once you've waited 2 hours past your original departure time, when the disruption is within the airline's control (including for safety) and you were told less than 12 hours ahead.
- A hotel and transportation to it and back, if you have to wait overnight.
- Rebooking for a delay of 3 hours or more. If the disruption was within its control, a large airline must get you on its next available flight, or a partner's, leaving within 9 hours; if it can't, on any airline within 48 hours. When the disruption was outside its control, it must rebook you within 48 hours, or refund you if it can't.
- Refund of the unused part of your ticket if the rebooking doesn't meet your needs, within 30 days.
- Updates every 30 minutes until a new departure time is set.
Stuck on the tarmac
The airline must give you the opportunity to get off the plane after 3 hours on the tarmac in Canada, unless takeoff is likely within 3 hours and 45 minutes of the doors closing.
Bumped from your flight
If you're denied boarding for a reason within the airline's control, compensation depends on how late you arrive: $900 (less than 6 hours), $1,800 (6 to 9 hours) or $2,400 (9 hours or more), paid within 48 hours.
How to claim
- Claim with the airline in writing within one year of the delay or cancellation. It must pay or explain why not within 30 days.
- Keep proof of your request and the airline's reply.
- Complain to the Canadian Transportation Agency if the airline doesn't resolve it within 30 days. The Agency mediates first, and if that fails, decides.
Travelling through the US or Europe? The rules differ: see what US rules say you're owed and the EU rules on missed connections.
Track the delay as it happens
Add your flights to FlyingOver before you travel. You'll see status and gate changes while you're online and follow your flight offline in the air, with its estimated arrival, which is the time that decides your compensation.
Sources
- Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150), Justice Laws Website (current to 2026-07-21, last amended 2022-09-08): Large and small carrier definitions; the three categories of disruption; compensation of $400/$700/$1,000 (large) and $125/$250/$500 (small); $400 or $125 if refunded; claims within one year and a 30-day reply; standards of treatment; rebooking within 9 or 48 hours; refunds within 30 days; tarmac delays; denied boarding compensation. (September 16, 2026)
- Canada Transportation Act, Justice Laws Website: The regulations apply to flights to, from and within Canada, including connecting flights; carriers must decide on a written claim within 30 days; complaints to the Agency when a written request isn't resolved within 30 days; mediation and decision timelines; legislative changes not yet in force. (September 16, 2026)
- Canada Gazette, Part I, proposed Regulations Amending the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (December 21, 2024): Amendments to the APPR were proposed in December 2024 for consultation. (September 16, 2026)
- Canadian Transportation Agency, air travel complaints: Contact the airline in writing and wait up to 30 days for its response before complaining to the Agency; keep proof of your communication. (September 16, 2026)
Related guides
- Missed your connection because of a delay? What happens nextWhat airlines owe you when a late first flight makes you miss your connection in the US or Canada, on one ticket or separate tickets, and what to ask for.
- Connecting in Canada to the US: preclearance explainedHow US preclearance at Canadian airports works when you connect to a US flight, what it saves you on arrival, and Canada's new Free Flow for connections.
- Flight delayed or canceled? What US rules say you're owedAutomatic refunds, what counts as a significant delay, tarmac delays, bumping compensation and why there's no federal cash compensation for delays.