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View our Travel Advisories or Traveller Info Hub for information on flight disruptions.
These regulations have many implications, however, they have been put in place to protect our Canadian travellers, which we support. In certain circumstances, you may be entitled to compensation and specific standards of treatment under the Canadian Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR).
If you have any questions, or if you think you're entitled to compensation, please submit a claim and someone from the Travel Support Team will contact you. Claims may take up to 30 days to process.
Every traveller in Canada has rights, and we want to make sure you know yours. Swoop is proud to meet the standards of the Canadian Air Passenger Protection Regulations. We want to be fully transparent and arm you with the knowledge of minimum standards of treatment, when to expect compensation for delays, denied boarding, cancelled flights, or tarmc delays. There is also information on what to expect when travelling with children, compensation for lost baggage, rules on travelling with musical instruments and how to submit a claim.
When travelling with children under the age of 14, you can select and customize exactly where you sit by selecting your seat during initial booking or through My Bookings up to 24 hours prior to departure. If an adult purchases a seat in the family zone, children will get to select their seat for free in close proximity to the adult they are traveling with. If no seats are selected we’ll do our best to seat your group together at check-in, for no additional charge.
Children under the age of 14 must be seated in close proximity to a parent, guardian or tutor and will have the option to select their seats for free. This proximity will depend on the age of the child:
Adult (16 yrs+) flying with children under the age of five: Children will be seated adjacent to their parent, guardian or tutor.
Adult (16 yrs+) flying with children aged five to eleven: Children may select a seat in the same row and separated by no more than one seat from their parent, guardian or tutor.
Adults (16 yrs+) flying with children aged twelve or thirteen: Children will be separated by no more than a row from the parent, guardian or tutor.
Adults (12-16yrs) flying with children between five and eleven yrs old: Children may select a seat in the same row separated by no more than one seat from their parent, guardian or tutor.
Child aged 12 or 13 flying alone: There are no restrictions as to where they can sit, and regular seat fees will apply.
Two children aged 12 or 13 flying together: One child will be considered an adult with regular seat fees, while the second child will be able to select their seat for free within the family zone and must be seated no more than a row from their travel partner.
Traveller under the age of 16 flying with children under the age of 5: Pursuant to the Air Transportation Regulation, you will not be allowed to fly. Any children under the age of 5 must fly with an adult over the age of 16.
Rows 18-32 will be initially reserved for Family Zone seating. If these are unavailable, rows 8-14 will become available to families flying with children under the age of 14.
Most 3rd parties do not allow you to select a seat when purchasing your flight. Don't sweat, you can head to My Bookings to purchase and select your seats before your departure. By purchasing your seat you can customize where you sit and accompanying children will be able to select a seat for free if you purchase your seat within the Family Zone. If you do not select your seats, we'll do our best to seat your group together at check-in, for no additional charge.
Not all disruptions and delays are the same. We always do everything we can to get you to where you need to be on time, but sometimes it doesn't go according to plan and sometimes it is out of our control as an airline. Understand how the Canadian Air Passenger Protection Regulations define disruptions as being within or outside of Swoop's control:
Disruptions outside of our control would include, but are not limited to, natural disasters, weather, war, political instability, or any other illegal acts that put the ability to operate the aircraft safely at risk. Any security threats, medical emergencies, collision with wildlife (such as a bird strike), a labour disruption within Swoop or with an essential service provide.
Disruptions within our control but required for safety are usually unpredictable events that require attention or maintenance and are legally required to ensure safety. While this includes mechanical problems, it does not include scheduled maintenance or mechanical problems identified during regular maintenance.
Disruptions within our control are any situations not covered by the two categories above. For example, in the extremely rare case of an overbooking; any regular maintenance of our aircraft that is necessary to comply with legal requirements; or mechanical malfunction of our aircraft that has been discovered during regular maintenance. In any of these scenarios, compensation may be available to affected travellers.
Nobody likes their travel plans to be disrupted. Use this quick guide, based on the above definitions, to determine what you may expect in the case of a flight disruption.
Disruption outside airline control:
In situations outside Swoop's control, Swoop will ensure the passengers complete their journey. If a flight is cancelled or once a flight delay has reached three hours, Swoop must provide the passenger with a confirmed reservation on the next available flight that is operated by the original airline, or an airline with which the original airline has a commercial agreement. The flight must depart within 48 hours after the departure time indicated on the passenger’s original ticket. If Swoop cannot provide a reservation on a flight that departs within 48 hours of the original departure time indicated on the passenger's ticket, the airline must, at the passenger’s choice:
Provide a refund, or
In a situation within Swoop's control, but required for safety:
Provide assistance;
Offer alternate travel arrangements or a refund, and
Pay compensation for the inconvenience.
Disruption within our control but required for safety purposes:
If informed of the delay less than 12 hours before the schedule departure time indicated on the original ticket, and the passenger has waited two hours after the departure time indicated on the ticket, food and drink vouchers will be provided.
If the delay is expected to extend overnight for their original flight or a reserved flight as part of alternative travel arrangements, Swoop will offer, free of charge, hotel or other comparable accommodation as well as transportation to and from the accommodation, taking into consideration the location of the traveller.
Disruption within our control:
Food and drink vouchers will be provided for disruptions over 2 hours or hotel voucher if the delay is expected to extend overnight.
For disruptions over 3 hours, you will receive a full refund of your Swoop itinerary, or be rebooked on the next Swoop flight or on a flight operated by a carrier with which Swoop carrier has a commercial agreement, if requested.
Compensation in case of refund (2) If paragraph 12(2)(c) or (3)(c) applies to a carrier and the passenger’s ticket is refunded in accordance with subsection 17(2), the carrier must provide a minimum compensation of: •$400, in the case of a large carrier; and •$125, in the case of a small carrier.
For full details on compensation rules and amounts can be found here.
We do not overbook our flights. However, in certain circumstances we may have to deny you boarding.
Travellers will be:
Re-accommodated on the next available flight when time permits, or;
Asked to volunteer to be re-accommodated on another flight, in which case we will provide in writing the agreed to benefits prior to departure of the traveller’s flight; or
Selected for re-accommodation based on time of check-in and identified passenger requirements (e.g. SSR codes, available re-accommodations)
Issued a form of compensation acceptable to the passenger based on the duration of the passenger's delay;
Swoop will inform travellers of the amount of cash compensation that would be due and that the passenger may decline travel vouchers and receive cash or equivalent;
Under certain circumstances compensation may be offered to travellers who are denied boarding involuntarily. If multiple passengers have been involuntarily denied boarding, the last to check in will be the first to be denied boarding.
Please see our domestic tariff, rule 90: Schedule Irregularities for more information.
Travellers denied boarding for reasons outside Swoop’s control, like having improper identification, missing check-in cut off times, medical distress or intoxication, are not eligible for compensation.
If a traveller is denied boarding for a reason within Swoop’s control and not related to safety, the traveller may be entitled to compensation.
Travellers who are denied boarding involuntarily for reasons within Swoop’s control and not related to safety, may be entitled to compensation from Swoop. A traveller’s compensation is based on the length of delay at arrival at their final destination. Any travellers who are involuntarily denied boarding will be informed in writing the amount of cash/cash equivalent compensation that would be due. For compensation amounts and exceptions to compensation eligibility, please see domestic tariff, rule 95.
A tarmac delay is when you are on the aircraft and it has pulled away from the gate to get ready for takeoff or has just landed and the doors of the aircraft are still closed. In this circumstance, we will try to make you as comfortable as possible by doing the following:
We will provide you with access to the onboard lavatories, heating/cooling, comfortable ventilation, and the ability to communicate with people outside of the aircraft at no cost.
A complimentary water and snack service will be provided for tarmac delays longer than 90 minutes. With safety as a top priority, snacks and drinks (with the exception of alcoholic drinks) will be available for purchase before 90 minutes.
After a 3 hour tarmac delay in Canada, the aircraft will return to the gate for you to disembark from the aircraft if it is safe to do so. If it is likely that the flight can takeoff within 45 additional minutes, the aircraft can stay on the tarmac and complimentary water and snacks will continue to be provided when feasible. This short 45 minute extension is to avoid the inconvenience of cancellation or further delay.
For more details click here.
Damaged baggage and/or contents must be reported to a Swoop representative within seven days of your flight’s arrival. Please return to the airport with your damaged baggage for assessment.
Delayed baggage must be reported to Swoop within 21 days of your flight’s arrival. A Swoop representative will create a delayed baggage report for you that will include your contact information and a description of your baggage and its contents to assist in the search.
For more information, click here.
For domestic travel only, Swoop’s maximum liability as a result of damage and/or loss is approximately $2,325 CAD per bag. For international travel, Swoop’s liability will be limited by either the Montreal Convention or the Warsaw Convention, as applicable. In most cases, the limitation amount will be approximately $2,325 CAD.
If a bag is lost, travellers will be reimbursed for their baggage fee in addition to the settlement for the loss of baggage.
Bring your musical instrument onboard with you as a purchased carry-on.
Bring your instrument onboard with you for faster travel. Musical instruments that meet the combined dimensions of 113 cm (45”) will be considered your carry-on and subject to applicable fees. Musical instruments that don’t meet the carry-on size criteria will have to be checked and follow the weight limits for checked bags.
Fly with bigger instruments by purchasing a checked bag.
Due to size restrictions, musical instruments must be under combined total dimensions of 80" to be accepted. Oversize fees will be waived. Musical instruments need to follow regular checked bag weight restrictions (50lbs) with a limit of 100lbs and will be charged the overweight fee if the musical instrument is overweight.
In order to maintain our ability to provide unbundled, ultra-low fares, Swoop has introduced a nominal Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) surcharge of $2.95 per traveller, per flight. The Surcharge provides compensation funds for travellers experiencing irregular operations that are in the airline’s control and not related to safety, in compliance with APPR requirements. This enables us to both comply with the APPR, while keeping our base fares ultra-low for all Canadians. The Surcharge amount is consistent with the APPR Cost-Benefit Analysis report issued by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).
The surcharge will be collected at point of sale and will apply to each traveller on a per flight basis, in addition to other relevant charges and fees. It’s important to note that this surcharge is not designed to act as supplementary revenue to Swoop – it is meant to be revenue-neutral.
The Surcharge does not apply to lap held infants.
For more information and full details regarding these regulations see Canadian Transportation Agency Air Passenger Protection Regulations.
If we are not able to provide you with an adequate resolution, you may contact the Canada Transportation Agency at 1-888-222-2592
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