The Air Passenger Protection Regulations, section by section
What SOR/2019-150 actually says, in the order of the text, with the amounts it sets and the gaps it leaves.
Your compensation · YVR · Vancouver → YYZ · Toronto
$1,000
per passenger, no deduction · owed
- APPR (Canada)$1,000 · owed
Large Canadian carrier, cause within its control.
- Great-circle distance
- 3,346 km
- Distance band
- 1,500 to 3,500 km
- Claim to the airline (APPR, one year)
- 22 October 2027
Write the claim letter to the airline
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · law as of October 22, 2026 · 4,008 airports (OurAirports)
The Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150, are the rules the Canadian Transportation Agency made under section 86.11 of the Canada Transportation Act. They apply to every flight to, from and within Canada, including connecting flights, and to any airline operating them. They sort each delay, cancellation or denied boarding into three categories: within the carrier’s control, within its control but required for safety, and outside its control. All three oblige the airline to inform passengers and to get them to their destination; only the first one also pays compensation, set in section 19 for delays and cancellations ($400, $700 or $1,000 from a large carrier, $125, $250 or $500 from a small one, by hours of delay at arrival) and in section 20 for denied boarding ($900, $1,800 or $2,400). The text consolidated by Justice Canada is current to 30 September 2026; its last amendment dates from 8 September 2022, and the changes proposed since then are not in force.
Who is bound
Section 2 makes the operating carrier liable for the main obligations. When one airline flies passengers on behalf of another under a commercial agreement, both are jointly liable for some duties, and the airline that issued the ticket must give the required information. On a codeshare the name on your ticket and the airline in the cockpit may differ: the calculator asks for the airline that operated the flight.
The three categories and what each triggers
| Category | Information | Rebooking or refund | Food, hotel | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Within control, not safety | yes | yes, within 9 h first | yes, from 2 h | yes |
| Within control, required for safety | yes | yes, within 9 h first | yes, from 2 h | no |
| Outside control (s. 10) | yes | yes, within 48 h first | no | no |
Section 10 lists what is outside the carrier’s control: war or political instability, illegal acts, weather or natural disasters that make safe operation impossible, air traffic control instructions, NOTAMs, security threats, airport operation issues, medical emergencies, wildlife collisions, labour disruption within the carrier or an essential service provider, manufacturing defects identified by the manufacturer or an authority, and orders from officials. A knock-on delay caused by such a situation counts as outside control too, if the airline took all reasonable measures to limit its effects.
APPR: compensation by delay
Minimum compensation
$1,000
| Refunded instead | $400 |
| Denied boarding, same delay | $2,400 |
Cause within the carrier’s control and not required for safety.
Compensation, in detail
Section 19 pays by arrival delay at the destination on your original ticket: $400, $700 or $1,000 from a large carrier. If the alternate arrangements do not suit you and your ticket is refunded, the flat amount is $400 ($125 for a small carrier). You must file the request before the first anniversary of the delay or cancellation; the carrier then has 30 days to pay or explain. Section 21 requires payment in money unless you choose, in writing, another form worth more that never expires.
Baggage and the Montreal Convention
Section 23 adds the baggage fees to the compensation set by the Carriage by Air Act, which gives effect to the Montreal Convention: up to 1,519 special drawing rights, revised on 28 December 2024, about $2,892 at the IMF rate of 20 October 2026. See delayed and lost baggage in Canada.
What is pending
Draft amendments were published in Part I of the Canada Gazette in December 2025 and Bill C-31 was tabled on 2 May 2026. None of it is in force: this page and the calculator apply the consolidated text as it stands, and will change on the day new rules apply.