Porter Airlines Ordered to Pay Over $2,000 After Passenger Denied Boarding Due to Missing Birthdates
A British Columbia court has ruled that Porter Airlines must compensate a passenger who was denied boarding because her flight ticket lacked her date of birth, despite evidence showing the information was correctly provided by her travel agent.
Court Decision and Financial Penalty
In a decision issued this week by Alissa Reynolds of B.C.'s Civil Resolution Tribunal, Porter Airlines was ordered to pay passenger Dawn McCormick a total of $2,030.98. This amount includes $1,783.86 for rebooking costs, $122.12 in pre-judgment interest, and $125 in tribunal fees. The ruling stems from an incident where McCormick and a companion were refused boarding on a Porter flight from Vancouver to Montreal in May 2024.
Background of the Travel Disruption
McCormick's travel agent had booked a multi-leg journey to Madrid, with the first segment being a Porter Airlines flight from Vancouver to Montreal, followed by an Air Transat connection to Madrid. When McCormick and her friend arrived at Vancouver International Airport, Porter staff refused to allow them to board, claiming their tickets did not include birthdates and blaming the travel agent for the omission.
Faced with missing her connection to Madrid, McCormick was forced to rebook immediately. She secured a flight to Toronto and a separate flight from Toronto to Montreal, using two different credit cards for the purchases. While one credit card company reimbursed her for the Toronto-Montreal segment, the other refused coverage for the Vancouver-Toronto flight, leaving her personally responsible for $1,783.86 in unexpected travel expenses.
Evidence Presented in Court
The tribunal examined crucial evidence that contradicted Porter's claims:
- Passenger Name Records (PNRs) from the travel agent clearly showed both passengers' birthdates were included in the original booking.
- Internal Porter emails revealed that the birthdate omission actually occurred during codeshare communication between Air Transat and Porter Airlines, not due to any error by the travel agent.
- Porter's own procedures indicated that customer service representatives could have corrected the error in their GoNow system, but failed to do so.
Court's Findings on Responsibility
The ruling explicitly stated that "Porter's own evidence shows Ms. McCormick's travel agent did not make the mistake. I find the mistake clearly arose in the codeshare communication between Air Transat and Porter." Furthermore, the tribunal noted that McCormick and her companion arrived at the check-in desk 150 minutes before departure—well beyond Porter's recommended two-hour advance arrival—providing ample time for staff to correct the error had they followed proper procedures.
Broader Implications for Airline Accountability
This case highlights several important considerations for airline operations and passenger rights:
- Technical Integration Challenges: The incident demonstrates how codeshare agreements between airlines can create vulnerabilities in passenger data transmission.
- Staff Training and Procedures: Porter's customer service representatives had the technical capability to correct the birthdate error but failed to implement the solution.
- Passenger Protection: The ruling reinforces that airlines bear responsibility for ensuring complete and accurate passenger information, regardless of booking channels or partner airline involvement.
The decision serves as a reminder to airlines about their obligations to passengers when technical or procedural failures occur, particularly when those failures result in significant inconvenience and financial burden for travelers.
