APPR C$Flight delay and cancellation compensation in Canada (APPR)

Checked 15 Sep 2026·8 min read

C$1,000 is the most a large airline owes under APPR for a delayed or cancelled flight to, from or within Canada. A small airline’s ceiling is C$500, and the cause must sit within its control. Below: flight delay compensation in Canada by delay band, notice, refund and deadline.

#APPR C$How much does a large airline pay for a delay of 3 hours or more?

C$1,000 is the ceiling a large airline pays under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, for an arrival delay of 9 hours or more. C$400 covers 3 to under 6 hours; C$700 covers 6 to under 9 hours. All three figures are per passenger and apply equally to a cancellation.

Source: Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150), s.19(1)(a)-(b) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

“Arrival” is not touchdown. It is when one of the aircraft doors opens after landing. A flight that lands 2 hours 30 minutes late and waits 45 minutes for a door arrives 3 hours 15 minutes late: C$400, not nothing.

Not your situation? UK261/EU261 cover a UK or EU departure. A US domestic flight has no federal delay compensation (US DOT rules). Refunds and care live on the Canada APPR hub; or work out which law fits.

Time your delay from the doors-open moment, then run the figure through the flight delay compensation calculator.

#How much does a small airline pay?

C$500 is the most a small airline owes, for the same 9-hour-or-more band that pays a large one C$1,000. C$125 covers 3 to under 6 hours; C$250 covers 6 to under 9 hours. Any carrier that is not a large carrier is a small one.

Source: Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150), s.19(1)(b) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

A carrier counts as large if it carried 2,000,000 or more passengers worldwide in each of the two calendar years before the disruption. Exception: a small one flying for a large one under a commercial agreement takes on the large carrier’s obligations for that flight. This page does not label any specific airline as large or small.

Denied boarding compensation runs on its own scale. C$900 under 6 hours, C$1,800 6 to under 9, C$2,400 at 9 or more — regardless of carrier size.

Check the large vs small carrier breakdown before you pick a scale.

#Was the disruption within the airline’s control?

3 categories decide whether a delay or cancellation pays: outside the carrier’s control, within its control but required for safety, or within its control with no safety requirement. Only the third pays. The other two owe alternate arrangements or a refund.

Source: Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150), s.10-s.12, s.14 — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

Cash needs all three: category 3, an arrival three hours or more late (or a cancellation), and 14 days' notice or less.

Category 1 includes weather making safe operation impossible and a labour disruption within the carrier, such as a strike by its own staff. Category 2 needs a decision required by law to reduce risk to passenger safety. Scheduled maintenance never qualifies.

Categories 2 and 3 also owe what the regulations call standards of treatment, but only if you were told of the disruption less than 12 hours before departure. Once you have waited two hours past the original departure time, that means food and drink in reasonable quantities and access to communication, plus a hotel and transport to it when an overnight wait is expected. Category 1 carries no such duty.

In a CTA complaint, section 85.07(2) of the Canada Transportation Act presumes the disruption within the carrier’s control and not required for safety unless the carrier proves the contrary.

Ask the airline, in writing, which category it used and why.

#Does 14 days' notice remove compensation?

14 days or less before your original departure is the line for a within-control cause with no safety requirement. Told 14 days or less ahead, compensation under section 19 is due on top of a refund or a new flight. Told more than 14 days ahead, the airline still owes a refund or rebooking, but no cash.

Source: Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150), s.12(2)-(4) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

Timing decides the money, and only for category 3: a category-1 or category-2 cause pays nothing regardless of how little warning you got. Told 15 days before departure: refund or rebooking, no compensation. Told 14 days before: compensation once the arrival delay reaches three hours. In a CTA complaint, a “safety” label holds only if the carrier proves it (Canada Transportation Act section 85.07(2)).

Save the date the airline used to notify you — it decides whether a category-3 disruption ends in cash or only a rebooking.

#What if you took a refund instead of rebooking?

C$400 or C$125 is what a refunded passenger still receives for a category-3 disruption, whatever the delay. That flat amount, for a large or small carrier, replaces the tiered table. A refund does not waive compensation. They are separate rights.

Source: Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150), s.19(2) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

Alternate arrangements do not suit you? You are owed a refund, plus a free flight back to your point of origin if your travel no longer serves its purpose and you are not there already. Even outside its control, the carrier must offer rebooking within 48 hours on its own or a partner airline where it can. Until a new reservation is confirmed, you can take a refund instead. Refunds fall due within 30 days, by your original payment method unless you consent in writing to a non-expiring alternative.

Put your choice of refund or rebooking in writing the same day, and keep the airline’s reply.

#How do you claim before the first anniversary?

1 year from the day the delay or cancellation happened is your deadline to put a written claim to the airline. That is the one-year claim deadline the Air Passenger Protection Regulations set for every category-3 case, whether you claim a delay band or the flat refund-track amount.

Source: Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150), s.19(3)-(4) — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

Once your claim arrives, the airline has 30 days to pay or explain why compensation is not payable. Compensation is owed in money (section 21); an alternative counts only if it is of greater monetary value, disclosed in writing, non-expiring, and you separately confirm in writing that you accept it. Keep a dated copy of your claim: it is your evidence if the 30 days pass with no answer. See flight compensation time limits for how this deadline compares across regimes.

File in writing today and mark day 30 on your calendar.

#What if the airline refuses or does not answer within 30 days?

30 days after your written claim, if the dispute is still unresolved, you can complain to the Canadian Transportation Agency. A complaint resolution officer starts mediation within 30 days of filing; without a settlement, an order follows within 60 days of mediation starting.

Source: Canada Transportation Act, ss.85.04(1)(d), 85.05-85.07 — laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.

A 1 May 2026 Transport Canada release put the complaint backlog at more than 97,000. One passenger account (n=1, r/PersonalFinanceCanada, 11 December 2024) reports a 6.5-hour-delay complaint that sat about 3 years in the CTA queue. Then the airline offered C$700 to withdraw it.

Canada Aviation Dispute Resolution (CADR), an independent firm owned by The CDRL Group, runs a voluntary Air Canada pilot announced on 8 April 2026 for invited passengers whose APPR claims already sit at the CTA. Its decision, due within 90 days, binds Air Canada, and you only if you accept. No other airline currently takes part.

Keep your claim and the airline’s reply, or note the day 30 passed, before opening a CTA complaint.

#Flying from the UK or Europe? When UK261 or EU261 applies instead

£220 to £520 under UK261, or €250 to €600 under EU261, is also on the table if your disrupted flight left a UK or an EU airport. Both laws cover any airline on those departures. APPR still covers that flight if it lands in Canada.

Source: UK261 art. 3(1)(a), 7(1); EU261 art. 3(1)(a), 7(1) — legislation.gov.uk; eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.

Two laws, one trip: a UK-departing leg of a Canada-UK trip is both UK261 and APPR. APPR cannot refuse you for being eligible under UK261 too, but owes no compensation once you have been paid for the same event under UK261 or EU261 (APPR section 3(3)).

To claim under UK261 or EU261 without a claim service, the steps are on UK261 and EU261.

AirHelp (third-party claim service) can take on a UK261 or EU261 claim: no win no fee, and it keeps a fee from any payout.

Do it yourself · freeClaim with the airline, then the CTA

• Claim in writing; the airline can take up to 30 days
• Refused or no answer: a complaint to the CTA, free
• You keep all of the compensation

Use the claim letter template →

Hand it overAirHelp takes the claim, no win no fee

• They deal with the airline for you
• AirHelp's fee is 35% of the compensation, VAT included, and nothing if the claim fails.

Start with AirHelp →Third-party claim service

Check which airport the disrupted flight left from before you file.

General information on flight delay compensation in Canada, not legal advice. For your specific case, contact the Canadian Transportation Agency or a lawyer.

#Sources

• Air Passenger Protection Regulations (SOR/2019-150), ss.1(2), 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 - laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.
• Canada Transportation Act, ss.85.01, 85.04-85.07, 86.11 - laws-lois.justice.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.
• Canadian Transportation Agency, Air Travel Complaints - protection-passager-passenger.otc-cta.gc.ca, checked 2026-09-15.
• Transport Canada, news release on the air travel complaint backlog (1 May 2026) - canada.ca, checked 2026-09-15.
• Air Canada, news release on the CADR pilot (8 April 2026) - aircanada.com, checked 2026-09-15.
• Canada Aviation Dispute Resolution, service rules - cadr.ca, checked 2026-09-15.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, art. 3(1)(a), 7(1) - eur-lex.europa.eu, checked 2026-09-15.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, art. 3(1)(a), 7(1) - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

#FAQ

Is a 2 hour flight delay compensated in Canada?

No. Canada's APPR pays only from 3 hours late at your final destination, measured from when an aircraft door opens, not touchdown. A 2-hour delay earns no compensation, though the airline still owes you information about the disruption. The first paid band starts at C$400 for a large airline or C$125 for a small one.

How long can a flight be delayed before Air Canada pays compensation?

3 hours or more at arrival starts any airline's APPR compensation clock, Air Canada included, when the cause was within the carrier's control and not required for safety. Which scale applies depends on whether the airline carried 2,000,000 or more passengers worldwide in each of the two preceding calendar years; this page does not assign that status.

How long do I have to claim APPR compensation?

1 year from the date of the delay or cancellation is the deadline to put your claim to the airline in writing. The airline then has 30 days to pay or explain why it is not paying. If your written request to the airline goes unresolved after 30 days, you can complain to the Canadian Transportation Agency.