FAT CHANCE Regulator must review large air passengers discrimination complaint

Posted on 09/08/2016 | About Halifax, Nova Scotia

The Federal Court of Appeal has overruled the refusal of the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to look at a discrimination complaint about Delta Air Lines' practices of bumping "large" passengers unless they pay for two seats.

In 2014, the CTA threw out the discrimination complaint of Dr. Gabor Lukacs, a Halifax-based air passenger rights advocate, against Delta, on the basis that he was neither large nor obese, and thus his rights were not affected by Delta's practices.
Lukacs, who has brought over two dozen successful complaints against airlines and won several court cases against the CTA itself, appealed the CTA's decision to the Federal Court of Appeal.
In a unanimous judgment, the court agreed that Lukacs does not have to be "large" nor otherwise personally affected in order to pursue the complaint: "If the objective is to ensure that air carriers provide their services free from unreasonable or unduly discriminatory practices, one should not have to wait until having been subjected to such practices before being allowed to file a complaint."
"I am very pleased with the ruling," said Lukacs. "It tells the CTA to live up to its mandate, and confirms the basic ethical principle that you are allowed to stand up for the rights of others: you do not have to be a child to advocate for the rights of children, nor do you have to be a veteran to advocate for the rights of veterans. It is the same with 'large' passengers."
The present court ruling is the third victory of Lukacs against the CTA. In June 2015, the court rebuked the CTA for its secretive practices, and ordered it to disclose unredacted passenger complaints to Lukacs. In November 2015, the court ordered the CTA to decide how passengers bumped from Canada-bound British Airways flights can seek compensation in Canada.