WestJet must accommodate travellers with mobility devices, CTA rules in landmark decision

The case was triggered by a family vacation that never happened. In July 2023, Noa Fleischer, who uses a power wheelchair, went to book a trip and found that almost all of WestJet’s fleet couldn’t accommodate her chair. For Canadians in her position, the ruling shifts who absorbs the cost when the plane can’t accommodate travellers with mobility aids.

What did the CTA order WestJet to do?

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), the federal tribunal and regulator that oversees air travel and other federally regulated transportation, ordered WestJet to accommodate passengers who give at least 21 days’ notice that they need to travel with a medically necessary mobility aid that can’t be collapsed below 35 inches. According to the ruling, there are three ways WestJet can meet that duty:

• Fly the passenger on their original WestJet flight, if the passenger shows the mobility aid can safely be tilted to fit through the baggage compartment door
• Book the passenger with another airline on the same route, or a comparable one, at a comparable time — and pay any price difference between the two airlines
• Give a full refund for the itinerary if no suitable alternative is available

The CTA rejected WestJet’s argument that booking passengers on rival airlines would put it at a competitive disadvantage. The airline failed to provide data on how many passengers would need the accommodation, or what it would cost, so the evidence didn’t show undue hardship, the agency found.

“This decision highlights that large corporations cannot simply rely on business decisions and procurement practices to escape their duty to accommodate people with disabilities,” said Devin Glim, a staff lawyer at ARCH Disability Law Centre (ARCH), a specialty legal clinic that practises exclusively in disability rights law and represented Noa. “Fundamental human rights must take precedence.”

The airline has until Dec. 14, 2026, to confirm to the CTA that the accommodation is available, and until March 11, 2027, to file its new policies and proof that staff have been trained on them.

Why couldn’t the Fleischers book a WestJet flight?

In 2023, Noa was unable to book WestJet travel to a resort destination because her wheelchair wouldn’t fit through the cargo door of the airline’s Boeing 737s. The agency found she faced an “ongoing undue barrier” on most of WestJet’s aircraft. It didn’t award her financial compensation; what she won instead was a change in how the airline must treat her and all passengers like her.

Her father, David Fleischer, says the barrier has shaped the family’s travel plans for years.

“For the past few years, every time we’ve looked at going on vacation, we’ve had to cross things off our list because no accessible flights were going there or to see the flights we could choose from really narrowed, for the same reason,” he says.

That narrowing has a financial implication, too. When only a handful of flights can carry your wheelchair, you lose much of the ability to shop around on price, timing or route.

“There are so many barriers to accessibility when you leave the comfort of home and start travelling that it definitely means a lot to see one of them falling,” David says. “The only catch there is that it feels like you literally have to make a federal case out of it to get that change. We weren’t seeking to be activists — just trying to go on vacation — but it’s exciting to be a small part of moving these changes forward.”

“I’m thrilled about the outcome of this case,” Noa said in a statement on the decision released by ARCH. “Traveling should be a universal experience that everyone has the right to enjoy, regardless of whether or not they have a disability.”

Money.ca reached out to the CTA and WestJet for comment, but had not heard back at publish time.

Does the ruling guarantee you a seat?

No, the ruling doesn’t secure a seat. The CTA states that its order doesn’t guarantee accessible flights will be available, or that a passenger will be able to travel in all circumstances. But if WestJet refuses to transport a passenger with a mobility aid, it’s expected to explain why it couldn’t meet the decision’s requirements and, where appropriate, provide supporting documentation.

Timing plays a role. The accommodation applies only with at least 21 days’ notice, which the CTA says gives WestJet sufficient time to find a seat on an accessible flight at a comparable price without unnecessary connections.

And complying with the order won’t, on its own, trigger compensation under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR), the federal rules that set airline payouts for delays and cancellations.

Even when a wheelchair fits on the plane, flying with one remains taxing.

“The real game-changer will be when people in wheelchairs can simply go right onto the plane, like everybody else,” David says. “For now the reality is that people who use their wheelchairs as part of their body have to give them up at the gate, endure a plane ride with limited or no mobility and then hope the chair arrives in one piece at the other end.”

Is this part of a bigger shift in air travel accessibility?

Yes. The decision comes in the wake of a case brought by Tim Rose against Air Canada, which dates back to 2016, when he was told his power wheelchair would not fit on an aircraft bound for Ohio. In 2023, the CTA ordered Air Canada, Canada’s national airline, to accommodate passengers whose power wheelchairs can’t fit through the cargo door of their scheduled aircraft.

The Federal Court of Appeal upheld that decision in March 2025.

Then in August 2026, the CTA ordered WestJet to scrap its 300-pound weight cap on mobility aids from most of its aircraft before July 2027, after a complaint by Steven Fletcher, a Winnipeg resident and former federal minister of state for transport.