Court Rules Air Canada Overstepped on Visa Cancellation

In 2017, Paula Mejias, a Venezuelan mom and her three children were stuck in Panama for over a month after an Air Canada employee contacted Canadian Immigration with concerns they would overstay their visa if allowed to continue their trip. A judge has ruled that was an overstep on the part of the airline, and ordered it to pay $4100 in compensation.

Under normal circumstances, an interview with the visa holder would be held. In this case, the valid travel documents were marked invalid by the airline and cancelled without talking to Mejias, who was on the way to visit the children’s father, an international student in university at the time. 

The visas were restored once lawyers for Mejias got involved. After 33 days being stranded in Panama, the family was allowed to travel.

In a 60 page ruling, the judge ruled that airlines are responsible for verifying that travel documents are valid at the time of travel, but not for interpreting immigration law. 

The law states that airlines face fines for transporting people without the proper documentation. A representative from Air Canada told the Toronto Star it finds the ruling sets a troubling precedent, saying  “this ruling creates great uncertainty for all airlines about their obligations under Canada’s immigration laws.”

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