WestJet and Air Transit passengers retaliate after airlines falsely claim they can’t film brawls
Jason Huang says he and three older relatives were trying to get back to Toronto last August when a routine check-in at the WestJet counter at Edmonton International Airport turned into a confrontation.
“The manager suddenly took away my phone,” Huang said. “I was shocked.”
The family was traveling to Banff, Jasper and Calgary and had already checked in online and printed their boarding passes. But Huang says that at the check-in counter, the WestJet agent issued new tickets for a later flight — without any explanation.
When Huang asked why they were no longer on the original plane, he said no one would give a clear answer. He continued to question the change, and was told that the plane he was supposed to fly on had been downsized and some passengers – including his family – had to take off several hours later.
Huang wanted to document this reaction so he could present it with a compensation claim, so he took out his phone and started making an audio recording.
The WestJet agent can be heard telling Huang that he would call the police if he did not stop recording.
When Huang refused, the agent told him, “You will not fly today.”
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Huang says that after a heated argument, the agent snatched the phone from her hand and tore up the group’s boarding passes.
He remembers thinking, “I can’t believe this is happening in Canada.”
Huang says the situation became worse when his father tried to record video of what was happening on his phone.
In the video, the agent can be heard telling the group that they have “no right” to record and to “get this phone.”own!”
Passenger Jingnan Huang was recording her son’s conversation with WestJet agents when an agent accessed her phone and erroneously told her he could not record.
Then the agent tried To grab that phone, which Huang says this resulted in an injury to his 73-year-old father’s eye, which left the eye red and swollen.
A lawyer with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) says what he saw in the video was disturbing, Because recording such conversations is completely legal in Canada.
“Things are going to escalate,” Tamir Israel said. “Until the airlines systematically address this and make sure all of their (employees) clearly understand that you can’t restrict recording in these situations,” said David E., director of the privacy monitoring technology program at CCLA.
Huang later requested compensation from WestJet. Air Passenger Safety RegulationsWhich WestJet rejected, so he filed a complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency.
WestJet declined Go Public’s request for an on-camera interview.
one in statementA spokesperson wrote that the incident was “immediately investigated”, that the airline apologized to guests and that “internal follow-up” would be conducted. WestJet declined to elaborate when asked what that follow-up included.
disappointed with air transit
Midhun Haridas and his wife Parvati Radhakrishnan Nair say they faced a similar situation when they tried to fly back to Toronto from Punta Cana International Airport in the Dominican Republic in March 2024.
Haridas says an Air Transit boarding manager told him he was standing in the wrong place for check-in, which caused some confusion as to where he was supposed to stand. The agent became irritated with them and said he would not let them check-in.
Confused and frustrated, Haridas takes out his phone to record the altercation, but the agent asks him to stop.
“Delete all photos and all videos prior to check-in,” the Air Transit agent says on the video.
As their departure time approached, Haridas says he and his wife requested to be allowed to board the plane, but the agent ignored them.
Eventually, they were told they could only fly if they deleted the recorded videos and signed a document stating that they were disruptive and offensive.
The Air Transit employee told Haridas and his wife that they could not board the flight from Punta Cana to Toronto unless Haridas deleted the video of them from his phone.
“I was like, ‘We will never sign anything that is false,'” Haridas said. “Never.”
The plane departed without them, leaving them scrambling to find an alternative flight with another carrier later that day.
Judge’s sharp decision
When they reached home, Haridas approached the group air passenger rightsAnd learned that he should file a small claims lawsuit.
As part of the trial, Haridas presented his video recording.
one in The judge delivered a scathing verdict and said He was grateful that the recordings existed, as they show “just how terrible the customer service he (Haridas) received at the hands of the defendant corporation.”
He called Air Transit’s conduct “serious” and awarded the couple $7,000 because they were denied the ability to check-in for the flight and were never given a reason.
Air Transat declined an interview request, but said in a statement It “regretfully” the experience “did not reflect the high standards of customer service we maintain.”
The airline also said the person who refused to let them board the plane is “no longer an employee” on Air Transit flights, although it was unclear whether the employee had resigned, been fired or been reassigned.
Lawyer Israel says the video not only helped Haridas and his wife win their case – it was clear evidence that the airline changed its story.
At the airport, an Air Transat employee said the couple could board the plane if they deleted the video. But in court, the airline claimed the passengers were a security threat.
Having a recording is helpful, Israel said, “when there is significant disagreement over what is happening, or where the airline is pushing one justification over a different justification.”
what the law allows
Both Huang’s and Haridas’ incidents fall under Canada’s “one-party consent” rules.
according to criminal Code A conversation can be recorded as long as at least one participant – such as the person recording – consents.
Israel says it is legal to record and use that evidence in a dispute, because the traveler is recording the conversation with a service provider.
“You have your own consent to record that conversation, and that’s all you need,” Israel said, adding that such recordings are often required when it comes to claims filed by air travelers.
Israel says he understands why some airline employees might object to being recorded.
“No employee wants to become a meme,” he said, “or promoted on the Internet as the person who did something wrong.”
Legal experts confirm to CBC Go Public that passengers have the right to record disputes with airline personnel and that videos can help when seeking compensation later. It comes after WestJet and Air Transat passengers said they were told they could not board planes if they did not delete photos, video and audio recordings of staff.
That’s why he believes airlines need to do a better job of training employees — especially as the holiday season approaches and travel disputes are likely to increase.
Huang also believes that airline employees need better training. But until then, he says, he wants travelers to know their rights.
“If it can happen to us, I think it can happen to anyone.”
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