美国联合航空公司航班上一名乘客被暴力驱逐下机的视频片段成为全球头条后,加拿大称,该国正采取措施解决航空公司超额售票的问题。
Canada said it is taking steps to tackle airline overbooking, following footage of a passenger being forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight made global headlines.
加拿大交通部长马克·加尔诺称,政府将在今年春天推进乘客权利法案。
Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the government will put forward a passenger rights law this spring.
法案有望加入为因航空公司可控因素遭拒载的乘客设立的赔偿条款。
It is expected to include compensation rules for those denied boarding due to factors within the carrier's control.
2008年,加拿大曾出台《加拿大航空权利》,这是针对航空公司停机坪延误、航班取消和超售情况下的乘客权利的自愿行为准则。
In 2008, Canada introduced Flight Rights Canada, a voluntary code of conduct for airlines around passenger rights related to tarmac delays, flight cancellations and overbooking.
根据该准则,如果某次航班超额售票或被取消,航空公司须要么在另一架航班上给乘客找到座位,要么返还乘客机票中未使用部分的票款。
Under that code, if a plane is overbooked or cancelled, a carrier must either find the passenger a seat with another flight, or refund the unused portion of the ticket.
加拿大运输局每年平均接收到约50起乘客遭飞机拒载的投诉。
The Canadian Transportation Agency receives an average of about 50 complaints a year from passengers saying they were denied boarding.
多伦多大学罗特曼管理学院的安布里什·钱德拉表示,航班要求乘客放弃自己的座位是航空旅行中一种“无法避免的”情况。
Ambarish Chandra, with the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, says that airlines bumping passengers is an "unavoidable" fact of air travel.
他说道:“我不认为立法可以消除乘客放弃自己座位(这一情况)。但是立法确实能够保护乘客,并且可以明确规定各种情况下乘客的权利。”
"I don't think the goal of legislation should be to eliminate bumping," he said. "But legislation does need to protect passengers and make very clear what passengers rights are in various situations."