Flair Airlines ordered to pay for spoiled seafood caused by baggage delay in Ontario

A tribunal says Flair Airlines must fork over hundreds of dollars in compensation to a man on an Ontario-bound flight whose crab meat and fish cakes went bad in his luggage, which was delayed for several days.

In a ruling on Thursday, the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal ordered the discount carrier to pay Brian Vu $780 for the spoiled items following a flight more than two years ago as well as baggage fees, interest and legal costs.

Vu flew from British Columbia to Ontario on Nov. 6, 2022, paying $72 to check two bags, one of which did not arrive until Nov. 10.

The tardy luggage contained sea cucumbers and dandelion root as well as the crab and fish, all of which went bad, amounting to a loss of $522, the traveller said.

Flair argued it was not liable because its actions did not cause the spoilage and because its contract with passengers bars them from packing perishable items in checked bags.

However, the tribunal says carriers are responsible for checked bags once they accept them, even if they contain items they shouldn’t.

Earlier this year Insauga.com reported the discount airline owed $67.2 million to the federal government prompting the Canada Revenue Agency to obtain an order for the seizure and sale of the carrier’s property, according to court documents.

Flair also saw four of its planes repossessed last year after aircraft leasing manager Airborne Capital claimed that the company regularly missed rent payments that amounted to millions of dollars over the preceding five months.

– With files from Insauga.com