Meals and a hotel during a flight delay: what the airline must give you in Canada
Updated · Checked against the regulations as current to September 30, 2026 · By LandedLate
Once you've waited 2 hours past your departure time, the airline must give you food and drink and a way to communicate, and a hotel with transport if you have to stay overnight (section 14). That applies when the cause was within the airline's control, including safety problems such as a mechanical fault, and you were told less than 12 hours before departure. For weather, air traffic control and other causes outside its control, the regulations don't require meals or a hotel. If you were bumped from a flight for a reason within the airline's control, they're owed however much notice you had (section 16).
Whether your own flight qualifies depends on its details: the reason the airline gave, how late you reached your destination and how much notice you had. Check it free at landedlate.ca/check.
When meals and a hotel are owed
| Cause of the delay | Told less than 12 hours ahead | Told 12 hours or more ahead |
|---|---|---|
| Within the airline's control, including safety (crew, scheduling, mechanical faults) | Meals after 2 hours; hotel overnight (section 14) | Not owed |
| Outside its control (weather, air traffic control, security) | Not owed (section 10(3)) | Not owed |
| Bumped from a flight, for a reason within its control (including safety) | Owed until you board the new flight (section 16) | Owed until you board the new flight (section 16) |
The 2 hours count from the departure time on your original ticket. Compensation is separate: it starts when you reach your destination 3 or more hours late. What a 2-hour delay gets you
What airlines actually hand out
- Porter says it gives meal vouchers for airport restaurants depending on the timing of the delay: $8 for breakfast, $12 for lunch and $15 for dinner, or reimbursement up to $35 a day if vouchers aren't available. Porter
- Air Transat says it provides meal vouchers and electronic means of communication (when available) when the disruption is within its control, 2 or more hours have passed, and you were told less than 12 hours ahead. Air Transat
If the airline gave you nothing
- Ask at the gate or the service desk first, and note who you asked and when.
- Keep every receipt for reasonable meals, the hotel and the transport to it.
- Ask the airline in writing to reimburse you, citing section 14. The regulations make the airline provide this care; they don't set out a refund process, so send it like a claim: dates, receipts and section 14.
- If it refuses or doesn't answer, a free complaint to the Canadian Transportation Agency can ask for expenses as well as compensation. How to file
Free. LandedLate takes no share of what the airline pays you.
Questions
How much should a meal voucher be worth?
The regulations don't set a dollar amount. They require food and drink "in reasonable quantities, taking into account the length of the wait, the time of day and the location of the passenger" (section 14(1)). Porter, for example, says its vouchers are $8 for breakfast, $12 for lunch and $15 for dinner.
My flight was delayed by weather. Do I get a hotel?
Not under the regulations. For causes outside the airline's control, such as weather, air traffic control or a security threat, the airline only has to keep you informed and get you a new flight or a refund (sections 10(3) and 18).
The airline told me about the delay more than 12 hours before departure. Am I owed meals?
No. Meals and hotels are owed only if you were told less than 12 hours before the departure time on your ticket (sections 11 and 12). A warning the evening before a morning flight can still be under 12 hours, so check the times.
The airline gave me nothing, so I paid for food and a hotel. Can I get it back?
Ask the airline in writing and attach the receipts. The regulations make the airline provide the meals and the hotel itself; they don't set out a process for refunding what you paid. Some airlines say they reimburse: Porter, up to $35 a day for meals when it has no vouchers. If the airline refuses, a complaint to the Canadian Transportation Agency can ask for expenses.
Do I get food and water if I'm stuck on the plane?
Yes. During a tarmac delay the airline must provide food and drink in reasonable quantities, working toilets, ventilation and heating or cooling, and a way to communicate if feasible (section 8).
Can the airline refuse meals if handing them out would delay me further?
Yes, in one case: it may limit or refuse meals or a hotel if providing them would delay you further (section 14(3)).
Sources
- Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150, sections 8, 10 to 14 and 16 (Justice Laws)
- Porter: delayed, diverted and cancelled flights (meal vouchers, $35 daily maximum)
- Air Transat: flight disruption, delay and cancellation (meal vouchers)
- Canadian Transportation Agency: complaints portal
General information, not legal advice.