OTTAWA – July 24, 2012 – As thousands of travellers hit the skies for the summer holiday season, the Canadian Transportation Agency released today the 6th edition of Fly Smart, a user-friendly resource tool to help air travellers plan their trips to, from and within Canada. The Agency now also offers a handy pocket-sized list of top ten Fly Smart tips, perfect for people on the go.
The new edition of Fly Smart informs air travellers of the consumer protection regime that is place in Canada, the rights and obligations of both passengers and air carriers under this regime, and how to seek redress if something goes wrong. It tells air travellers what they need to know about travel documents, tickets, baggage, insurance coverage and special requests – everything to get from the early stages of planning a trip, right through to the airport and back home.
“A positive air travel experience is a shared responsibility,” said the Agency’s Chair and CEO Geoff Hare. “By being aware of the rights and responsibilities of both passengers and air carriers, consumers can plan ahead and better protect themselves while travelling by air.”
Fly Smart can be accessed in multiple formats through the Agency’s website along with other popular agency publications such as Take Charge of Your Travel, a guide for persons with disabilities. Print copies can be ordered by contacting info@otc-cta.gc, or by calling 1-800-222-2592/TTY 1-800-669-5575.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has a number of mechanisms in place to help protect consumers by:
- resolving disputes between members of the public and air carriers through facilitation, mediation or formal adjudication;
- working with air carriers and members of the public to ensure that they are aware of their rights and obligations;
- ensuring air carrier tariffs are compliant with Canadian legislation and regulations; and
- working with the industry to remove obstacles to transportation to the mobility of persons with disabilities by resolving individual complaints and by developing codes of practice, standards and regulations for accessible transportation.
For further information about the Agency’s services for air travellers, please visit: www.otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/air-travellers.
About the Canadian Transportation Agency
The Canadian Transportation Agency is an independent administrative body of the Government of Canada. It performs two key functions within the federal transportation system:
- As a quasi-judicial tribunal, the Agency, informally and through formal adjudication, resolves a range of commercial and consumer transportation-related disputes, including accessibility issues for persons with disabilities. It operates like a court when adjudicating disputes.
- As an economic regulator, the Agency makes determinations and issues authorities, licences and permits to transportation carriers under federal jurisdiction.
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