Airline Employees’ Airport Improvement Fee / Passenger Facility Fee Class Action
Airline Employees’ Airport Improvement Fee / Passenger Facility Fee Class Action
On March 25, 2019, a proposed class action was filed in the Federal Court of Canada alleging that most airports in Canada improperly charged Airport Improvement Fees (AIFs) and/or Passenger Facility Fees (PFFs) from airline employees, contrary to the law of contracts and the federal Competition Act.
This class action seeks, among other things, a Court order requiring each of those airports to compensate all airline employees for the all of the AIFs/PFFs they have previously paid, punitive damages, costs of investigation, and legal costs.
If the action is certified by the Federal Court of Canada to proceed as a class action, you will be automatically included as a class member.
To receive updates on the progress of this lawsuit, please subscribe to our Mailing List below. Joining the mailing list does not create any financial obligation and your information will be kept confidential.
| November 5, 2021 | The proposed class action has been discontinued against twelve Non-National Airport System Airports, namely:
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| April 28, 2021 | A renewed and amended Notice of Civil Claim has been filed in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
It is intended that the proposed class action will continue in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. |
| November 30, 2020 | The Federal Court dismissed the proposed class action due to lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The Federal Court's order can be found here. |
| November 30-December 4, 2020 | Hearing of the certification motion in the Federal Court (Zoom) |
| September 21-25, 2020 | Hearing of the certification motion (Vancouver, BC) - adjourned to November 30, 2020 |
| October 4, 2019 | Court fixes a timetable for various events leading up to the certification motion |
| March 25, 2019 | A proposed class action was filed in the Federal Court of Canada. |
Am I part of this class action?
The class action covers all current and former airline employees, including their family members, who travelled through the following Canadian airports using an employee travel pass and paid an Airport Improvement Fees (AIFs) and/or Passenger Facility Fees (PFFs).
All class members will be automatically included in the case once the case is certified by the Court. At this time, there is no action required to be part of this class action.
| The Calgary Airport Authority |
| Edmonton Regional Airports Authority |
| Fort McMurray Airport Authority |
| Grande Prairie Airport Commission |
| Comox Valley Airport Commission |
| North Peace Airport Services Ltd. |
| Kamloops Airport Authority Society |
| Kamloops Airport Ltd. |
| Prince George Airport Authority Inc. |
| Vancouver Airport Authority |
| Victoria Airport Authority |
| Winnipeg Airports Authority Inc. |
| Greater Moncton International Airport Authority Inc. |
| Gander International Airport Authority Inc. |
| St. John’s International Airport Authority |
| Deer Lake Regional Airport Authority Inc. |
| Halifax International Airport Authority |
| Hamilton International Airport Limited |
| Greater London International Airports Authority |
| Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport Authority |
| Sault Ste. Marie Airport Development Corporation |
| Greater Toronto Airports Authority |
| Aéroports de Montréal |
| Aeroport International de Mont Tremblant inc |
| Aéroport de Québec Inc. |
| Regina Airport Authority |
| Saskatoon Airport Authority |
| Nanaimo Airport Commission |
| Thompson Regional Airport Authority |
| Fredericton International Airport Authority |
| Saint John Airport Inc. |
| Northern New Brunswick Airport Authority |
| J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport |
| Sydney Airport Authority |
| Your Quick Gateway (Windsor) Inc. |
| Charlottetown Airport Authority Inc. |
Do I need to take any action to be part of this case now?
No action is required at this point.
However, you may want to obtain the booking history for your employee travel pass. This information should be available from your employer, the airline, upon request.
Please also keep records of any correspondence including booking confirmations, confirmation emails, receipts for payment of the AIFs/PFFs, cancellation emails, credit card statements, credit card authorizations, credit card refunds, etc.
This information may be necessary after the certification of this class action.
Can I still commence an individual action (e.g. Small Claims case)?
This class action does not preclude you from pursing the matter individually in court. However, as part of the class action procedure, the Court may stay or suspend any individual actions or similar actions that are pending in order to conserve judicial resources and avoid both a multiplicity of proceedings and contradictory outcomes. Evolink Law Group cannot advise you in an individual action. Please consult your lawyer if you plan to proceed individually.
Will class members be liable for the airports' legal fees if this class action does not succeed?
Class members are not liable for the airports’ legal fees if this action does not succeed.
When will I hear further information about this class action?
We will notify those that have signed up to our Mailing List on the next steps and when they expect a notice from the Court.
What are we asking for in this class action against airports?
This class action is seeking to recover a refund from the airports for the improperly charged AIFs and PFFs.
In addition, this class action is seeking to recover interest and punitive damages. The amount of punitive damages will be decided by the Court at trial.