How long does a flight have to be delayed to get compensation in Canada?
Three hours. Under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), an airline operating to, from, or within Canada owes you compensation when your flight arrives at your destination three hours or more late, the delay was within the airline's control and was not required for safety purposes, and the airline told you about it 14 days or less before departure. That is section 12(2)(d) and section 19 of the Regulations.
The clock runs on arrival, not departure. The APPR defines arrival as the moment an aircraft door opens at your destination. A flight that leaves 90 minutes late and lands 90 minutes late does not trigger section 19 compensation on that basis alone. A flight that leaves on time but diverts and lands four hours late can owe $400.
Two other numbers matter. After two hours of waiting past your scheduled departure, the airline must provide food and drink and access to communication if the delay is within its control — including a delay required for safety — and you were informed of the delay less than 12 hours before departure. At three hours, the airline's alternate-travel and refund obligations are triggered. Both are explained below.
The three delay categories
Every delay falls into one of three categories. The category decides what you get.
Within the airline's control. This can include routine staffing and scheduling decisions, business decisions such as consolidating flights, and scheduled maintenance. This is section 12. It is the only delay category that can trigger the standardized compensation in section 19.
Within the airline's control but required for safety. This can include a mechanical malfunction that reduces passenger safety or a safety decision made by the pilot or under the airline's safety management system. The airline must still provide applicable standards of treatment and alternate travel arrangements, but section 19 compensation is not payable. Scheduled maintenance undertaken in compliance with legal requirements is expressly excluded from the definition of "required for safety purposes."
Outside the airline's control. Section 10 lists them: weather that makes safe flight impossible, air traffic control instructions, airport problems, security threats, medical emergencies, bird strikes, a labour disruption at the airline or an airport, a manufacturer's safety defect, and orders from officials. No compensation and no meals, but you still get a rebooking or a refund.
Airlines frequently deny compensation on the basis that a disruption was required for safety or outside their control. In a complaint to the Canadian Transportation Agency, the law starts with the opposite presumption: the disruption is presumed to have been within the carrier's control and not required for safety unless the carrier proves otherwise.
How much compensation you get
The amount depends on the size of the airline and how late you arrive. Large airlines have carried two million or more passengers a year for the past two years. Carrier status can change; check before you file a claim. Air Canada, WestJet, Porter, Air Transat and Flair are large. Most regional airlines are small.
| Arrival delay | Large airline | Small airline |
|---|---|---|
| 3 hours to under 6 hours | $400 | $125 |
| 6 hours to under 9 hours | $700 | $250 |
| 9 hours or more | $1,000 | $500 |
That is section 19(1). Compensation is per passenger, not per booking. A claim or proceeding must properly include each passenger whose entitlement is being pursued.
If the delay is three hours or more and you give up on the trip and take a refund, the airline still owes $400 (large) or $125 (small) under section 19(2).
The airline must pay in money. It can offer a voucher only if the voucher is worth more, never expires, and you agree in writing after being told you can have cash. That is section 21.
What airlines must give you during the wait
If the delay is within the airline's control, including safety delays, and you learned of it less than 12 hours before departure, section 14 applies once you have waited two hours past your scheduled departure:
- Food and drink in reasonable quantities for the time of day and the length of the wait.
- A way to communicate, such as Wi-Fi or a phone.
- If you must wait overnight, a hotel or comparable accommodation, plus transport there and back.
The airline can refuse these only if providing them would delay you further. Keep the receipts; they may support a claim for reimbursement if the carrier failed to provide treatment it was required to provide.
The airline must also tell you the reason for the delay, your compensation rights, your standard of treatment, and how to complain, including to the Canadian Transportation Agency. During a delay it must update you every 30 minutes until a new departure time is set. That is section 13.
What happens once the delay reaches three hours
Once a delay reaches three hours, the airline must provide alternate travel arrangements or a refund under the rules that apply to the category of disruption. That does not always mean you can immediately choose a refund.
Within the airline's control, including safety-related delays, section 17 applies. A large carrier must first provide the next available flight on its own network or that of a commercial partner if it departs within nine hours of the original departure time. If it cannot, it must provide a flight on any carrier departing within 48 hours. If it cannot do that, it must arrange transportation to a nearby airport and a flight from there on any carrier. A small carrier must provide the next available flight on its own network or that of a commercial partner.
If the alternate arrangements offered under section 17 do not accommodate your travel needs, you are entitled to a refund. If you are already away from your point of origin and the trip no longer serves a purpose because of the disruption, the airline must also provide a flight back to your point of origin.
Outside the airline's control, section 18 applies. The carrier must first provide the next available flight on its own network or that of a commercial partner that departs within 48 hours of the original departure time. If it cannot, you may choose a refund or further alternate arrangements. For a large carrier, those further arrangements include the next available flight on any carrier.
What proof you need
Gather these while you wait, not after you get home:
- Your booking confirmation and boarding pass.
- Every notice the airline sent: emails, texts, app alerts. Screenshot them with the time visible.
- The reason the airline gave, in the airline's own words.
- Your actual arrival time. A photo of the arrivals board or a flight-tracking screenshot works.
- Receipts for meals, hotels, taxis and any replacement flights.
The reason the airline gives at the gate often changes later. In Gillies v. WestJet, an agent told the passenger on a recorded call that the delay was "ramp controllable". The tribunal still accepted WestJet's operational records, which showed weather. Your best evidence is a written request to the airline for its delay codes and the records behind them.
How to claim
- Claim from the airline first. Each airline has an online claim process, but we recommend sending your claim by registered mail or another trackable delivery service to a published address for the airline. Keep a complete copy of the letter and every enclosure, along with the tracking record and proof of delivery. This creates a clear record of exactly what you claimed and when the airline received it. Do not wait until the deadline: section 19(3) requires the request to be filed with the carrier before the first anniversary of the delay or cancellation. You have one year from the day of the delay to file. That is section 19(3).
- Wait 30 days. The airline must pay or explain in writing why it refuses, within 30 days of your request. Section 19(4).
- If refused, escalate. You can file a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency, although we discourage that route. You can also send a demand letter and then file at the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal (if the claim is for under $5000) or your province's small claims court. Our small claims guide walks through that route.
Before accepting a goodwill payment or voucher, check whether the airline requires you to agree that it is a full and final settlement or release.
When the airline says "required for safety"
Safety is the most common reason airlines give. The Regulations narrow it. "Required for safety purposes" means required by law to reduce risk, or a safety decision by the pilot or under the airline's safety management system. It does not include scheduled maintenance.
Ask the airline in writing what the specific safety issue was, when it was discovered, and what facts support its classification as "required for safety purposes." If the airline relies on an earlier flight disruption, also ask what reasonable measures it took to mitigate the impact on your flight. Preserve the response — or the absence of one — for any later complaint or proceeding.
Where the airline relies on an earlier outside-control disruption, section 10(2) preserves that classification only if the later disruption is directly attributable to the earlier event and the carrier took all reasonable measures to mitigate its impact. In Lai v. Air Canada, Air Canada had ten hours in Toronto to find another aircraft after a customs delay, filed no evidence that it tried, and paid $400.
Escalating: the Agency or the courts
The Canadian Transportation Agency handles APPR complaints through Complaint Resolution Officers. There is no filing fee for passengers. The CTA currently warns that, because of the volume of complaints, it may take more than 24 months before a complaint is reviewed and assigned to an officer. Once the formal process starts, the legislation provides a 90-day decision period. The CRO can order compensation, a refund, or reimbursement of qualifying expenses. Decisions are binding and largely confidential.
The BC Civil Resolution Tribunal and provincial small claims courts hear the same claims as a contract debt, because the APPR terms are part of the airline's tariff. Air Passenger Rights v. WestJet, 2026 BCCA 357 confirmed the CRT had jurisdiction to resolve APPR compensation claims within its jurisdiction. One tribunal claim can cover both the fixed compensation and your out-of-pocket costs.