APPR C$Porter Airlines delay and cancellation compensation

Checked 15 Sep 2026·9 min read

Porter Airlines delay compensation runs C$400 to C$1,000 per passenger under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, since the Canadian Transportation Agency classifies Porter as a large carrier — payable once the disruption was within Porter’s control and you were told 14 days or less before departure. A flight out of Porter’s Toronto Billy Bishop (YTZ) hub delayed 6 hours 10 minutes at arrival for a reason inside Porter’s control owes C$700 per passenger, one rung up from the three-hour figure. Denied boarding within Porter’s control adds C$900 to C$2,400. During a tarmac delay, Porter must give you food, drink and working lavatories free of charge, and an opportunity to leave the aircraft after three hours.

• APPR C$C$125–C$1,0003 h or more late, by carrier size

Key facts: Porter Airlines

Source: APPR ss.19-20 — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca; CTA large/small guidance — protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-17.

#APPR C$How much does Porter Airlines pay under APPR for a delay of 3 hours or more?

C$700, not C$400, is what a Porter delay owes once the arrival runs six hours late: the ladder pays C$400 from three hours, C$700 from six and C$1,000 from nine, on the large-carrier scale the CTA assigns Porter. Nothing is owed unless the cause sat within Porter’s control and safety played no part in it.

Two minutes decide C$300 at each edge of that ladder: a Porter flight from Billy Bishop arriving 5 hours 59 minutes late owes C$400, and the same flight two minutes later owes C$700. The nine-hour edge works the same way, for C$300 more. Arrival is fixed when a door opens to let passengers off, not at touchdown, so the minute to write down is the one at the gate.

Porter sits on the Agency’s list of large airlines, as does Sunwing; the Agency publishes that list as examples rather than as a register: an airline missing from it is not small by omission. The large-versus-small carrier rules carry that list and the section 1(2) test behind it, and the compensation calculator or the APPR calculator will work a delay through.

Source: APPR s.19(1)-(2), s.1(2), s.1(4) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15; CTA large/small guidance — protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-17.

#Which APPR disruption category did Porter Airlines give?

3 categories under APPR decide whether Porter owes you anything: outside its control, within control but required for safety, and within its control. Only the third pays, and only if Porter gave 14 days' notice or less before departure. Porter, not the passenger, has to prove which category applies once the two of you disagree.

Porter owes nothing under category 1 (war, unsafe weather, ATC instructions, a security threat, an airport-side problem, a medical emergency, a wildlife strike, or a labour dispute reaching Porter or a supplier it relies on) or category 2 (safety-driven work inside Porter’s control, scheduled maintenance excluded) — both pay only re-routing or a refund. Category 2 does add one thing: care, starting at the two-hour mark, if you had less than 12 hours' warning of the disruption.

Only category 3 pays, and it is defined by exclusion — everything within Porter’s control that category 2’s safety carve-out does not reach. The Regulations introduce that category-1 list with the word “includes”, so a cause missing from it is not automatically category 3 either; the presumption does the work instead. In front of a resolution officer it runs against Porter: the Canada Transportation Act treats a disputed disruption as category 3 until Porter’s own evidence moves it. Record the reason Porter gave you word for word — that is what gets tested.

Source: APPR s.10(1)-(2), s.11, s.1(1), s.12(2)-(4) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca; Canada Transportation Act s.85.07(2) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

#How do you claim from Porter Airlines before the first anniversary?

12 months after the delay or cancellation, a written APPR claim is too late and Porter can refuse it on timing alone. File inside that year and you are owed a decision within 30 days. Porter pays in money unless it puts a never-expiring alternative worth at least as much in writing and you accept.

That same 30-day window covers any refund, which lands back on your original payment method unless you’ve agreed in writing to a non-expiring swap. Porter’s own site splits your options into three separate claims: compensation for a delay, diversion or cancellation, reimbursement of expenses you incurred during the disruption, and a refund of the unflown portion of your ticket. Pick the one that matches what happened. File before the first anniversary, or Porter can refuse it on time alone. Name the flight number, the date, the length of the arrival delay and the reason Porter gave, since that reason decides which category applies — the Canada APPR hub walks through the Regulations in full.

Keep your filing date in writing — it’s what starts the countdown toward a CTA complaint if 30 days pass with no answer.

Source: APPR s.19(3)-(4), s.18.2(1)-(2), s.21 — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca; Canada Transportation Act s.85.01(2) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

#What does Porter Airlines owe you if you are denied boarding?

Porter’s denied-boarding payment starts at C$900 and climbs to C$2,400 depending on how late your rearranged arrival ends up — under 6 hours the floor, 6 up to 9 the middle tier, 9 hours or beyond the ceiling. It applies only in category 3, within Porter’s control and unrelated to safety, and Porter has 48 hours to pay.

Carrier size makes no difference here. The same three-category filter that governs ordinary delay compensation governs this payment too: land the denial in category 1 or 2 and Porter owes only alternative arrangements, nothing more. Board your replacement flight before Porter has paid, and it owes you a written statement of the amount instead, corrected upward if your actual arrival ends up later than that statement assumed.

A voluntary seat swap for an agreed benefit doesn’t qualify, and neither does an ordinary delay or a cancellation — this payment is reserved for an involuntary denial that Porter caused, with no safety issue behind it.

Source: APPR s.20(1)-(2), (4)-(5) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

#How do you take a Porter Airlines claim to the Canadian Transportation Agency?

A Canadian Transportation Agency complaint opens once 30 days pass without Porter resolving your written claim. From there, a resolution officer has 30 days to start mediating, and 60 more for a binding order if mediation goes nowhere. Only Air Canada runs a CADR pilot, so a Porter dispute has no shortcut.

Once that 30-day window closes on any of Porter’s three claim types, compensation, expense reimbursement or refund, the Agency’s online complaint form is open to you, or start with the CTA complaint guide if you want the steps mapped out first. Mediation opens within 30 days of your filing, and a binding order follows 60 days later if it fails.

#If Porter Airlines rejects your claim

Porter carries the burden of proof, not you: the Canada Transportation Act starts from the position that a disputed disruption was within Porter’s control and unrelated to safety, and it is up to Porter to show otherwise, in writing. A resolution officer then weighs that written reason against the presumption. Do not let a weak-looking refusal tempt you into missing the first-anniversary deadline — a late claim fails on timing alone, whatever the merits. Push Porter to name the category, and see what to do when an airline refuses compensation for the next steps.

Source: Canadian Transportation Agency, air travel complaints — protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca; Canada Transportation Act s.85.07(2) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca; APPR s.19(3)-(4) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

#What must Porter Airlines do during a tarmac delay?

3 hours after the doors close for take-off, or after landing, is when Porter must offer you the chance to leave. That duty falls away only if take-off is likely inside 3 hours 45 minutes and Porter keeps up the tarmac-delay service meanwhile. Safety, security, air traffic control and customs are the only exceptions.

While the aircraft sits on the tarmac, Porter has to provide working lavatories, adequate ventilation, heating or cooling, a way to communicate with you, and food and drink, all free of charge, and to help arrange urgent medical assistance if you need it. This is not compensation. A Porter aircraft held on the tarmac at Toronto Billy Bishop for four hours after landing must still let passengers leave once three hours pass, even if a gate is occupied. These duties run regardless of which APPR category caused the delay — even a weather-grounded aircraft in category 1 still gets tarmac-delay treatment, just not compensation.

Which rules apply to your Porter Airlines flight

Porter’s UK or EU operating-licence status has not been established: it is absent from both the EASA third-country operators list and the CAA’s Type A licence list, and no Canadian or US register was read for it either. That is a data gap, not a finding of no coverage — this card states Canadian APPR claims only. Not your situation? Lost bags fall under the Montreal Convention and, on a Canadian flight, the APPR baggage top-up; flying only within the US, see US DOT rules.

Compare Porter with Air Canada and WestJet, both confirmed third-country operators with UK/EU departure cover; and Flair Airlines, large under APPR with the same unconfirmed UK/EU status as Porter. Canadian North sits on the CTA’s small-carrier side instead (checked 2026-09-17).

General information on Porter Airlines compensation, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the Canadian Transportation Agency, a legal aid clinic or a lawyer.

Source: APPR s.9(1)-(2), (4), s.8 — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

#Sources

• Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150) - laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
• Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), “Large and small airlines” - protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca.
• Canada Transportation Act - laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.
• Canadian Transportation Agency, air travel complaints - protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca.
• CTA online complaint form - formulaires-forms.otc-cta.gc.ca.
• Porter Airlines, delayed, diverted and cancelled flights - flyporter.com.
• Porter Airlines, denied boarding - flyporter.com.
• EASA, authorised third-country operators - easa.europa.eu.

#FAQ

Does Porter Airlines pay compensation for a delay out of Billy Bishop?

Yes, once an arrival delay from Porter's Billy Bishop (YTZ) hub passes 3 hours, provided the cause sat inside Porter's control, carried no safety requirement, and you had 14 days' notice or less. A flight landing 6 hours 10 minutes late under those conditions owes C$700 per passenger, since the CTA classifies Porter as a large carrier.

How do I submit a claim to Porter Airlines?

Porter's own site splits the process into three separate claims: compensation for the delay itself, reimbursement of expenses paid out during the disruption, and a refund of the unflown ticket portion. File the one that matches what happened, with the flight number, date and delay length, before the first anniversary of the disruption.

When can I escalate a Porter Airlines claim to the CTA?

Once 30 days pass with your written claim unresolved. The Canadian Transportation Agency is Porter's only escalation route, since, unlike Air Canada, it runs no CADR-style pilot; file online, and a resolution officer starts mediating within 30 days and issues a binding order 60 days after that if mediation fails.

What must Porter Airlines do during a tarmac delay at Billy Bishop?

Offer you the chance to leave the aircraft 3 hours after the doors close for take-off or after landing, unless take-off is likely within 3 hours 45 minutes and Porter keeps providing food, drink and working lavatories throughout the wait. Either way, this is a service duty, separate from compensation.