Porter Airlines delay compensation: what you're owed and how to claim

Updated September 27, 2026 · Checked against the regulations as current to September 3, 2026 · By LandedLate

Porter Airlines owes $400, $700 or $1,000 per passenger, in cash, for a delay or cancellation within its control. The amount depends on how late you reach your final destination: 3 to 6 hours, 6 to 9 hours, or 9 hours or more. Nothing is owed if the cause was outside Porter's control or required for safety. You claim on Porter's online form from 48 hours after landing, within one year, and Porter has 30 days to pay or explain why not. Rules as of September 27, 2026.

How much Porter owes

Porter, delay or cancellation within its control
You reached your destination	Per passenger
3 to 6 hours late	$400
6 to 9 hours late	$700
9 hours or more	$1,000
Less than 3 hours late	$0

Per passenger, section 19(1) of the regulations. Data as of September 27, 2026.

Bumped from an overbooked flight for a reason within Porter's control? The amounts are $900, $1,800 or $2,400 (section 20). If you took a refund instead of a new flight, you're still owed at least $400 (section 19(2)). Every amount in one chart

When Porter has to pay, and when it doesn't

You're owed

The cause was within Porter's control (crew, scheduling, an aircraft change, most avoidable maintenance), you arrived 3+ hours late, and for a cancellation you were told 14 days or less before departure.

Worth challenging

Porter says “required for safety”, weather or an earlier flight without detail, or doesn't answer within 30 days. Ask for the evidence.

Not owed

A genuine cause outside its control: weather that made flying unsafe, an air traffic control instruction, a security threat, or a strike. You still get a new flight, or a refund if Porter can't rebook you within 48 hours.

How to claim from Porter

Wait 48 hours after landing. Porter's form accepts claims from then on.
Open Porter's flight delay compensation form at flyporter.com and enter your confirmation number and the passenger's first and last name.
File one claim per passenger, per journey. Porter processes them separately, and pays compensation to the travelling passenger.
Describe what happened. LandedLate writes this text for you, with the sections of the regulations that apply.
Claim expenses separately. Meals, hotels and transport you paid yourself go on Porter's expenses reimbursement form, with receipts.

Write my Porter claim

Free. LandedLate takes no share of what Porter pays you.

Penalties the regulator has issued to Porter

The regulations give an airline 30 days after your claim to pay or explain why not (section 19(4)). The Canadian Transportation Agency has penalized Porter for missing that deadline in 2023 and 2025, along with other violations:

Issued	What for	Penalty
March 10, 2026	4 claims not paid or explained within 30 days (May 2025), plus, for the cancelled flight PD572 on March 30, 2025: 6 passengers not rebooked as required within 48 hours, 13 not informed by their preferred method, and no food or drink during a tarmac delay at Fort Lauderdale	$90,500
July 26, 2024	10 claims not paid or explained within 30 days (August to November 2023)	$2,000

If 30 days pass without an answer, note the date you claimed. It matters for a complaint to the agency.

A Porter credit versus a refund

Porter's pages say that when a disruption is beyond its control you receive a full credit, valid for one year from the date of booking. The next sentence matters more: if Porter can't offer a flight leaving within 48 hours of your original departure, you're entitled to a refund to your original form of payment. That's section 18(1.1) of the regulations. Ask for the refund in writing if you weren't rebooked in time.

If Porter refuses, and how to answer it

If Porter says	How to answer it
Maintenance, “required for safety”	The agency has found a problem caused by poor maintenance within the airline's control and ordered $400 per passenger (Anslow v. Sunwing, 20-C-A-2023). Ask what failed and when it was found.
Crew availability	Staffing is within the airline's control unless it followed a reasonable plan to replace crew (WestJet v. Lareau, 2025 FCA 149). More on crew shortages
Weather	The airline has to show the weather made your flight unsafe to operate; undecoded weather reports weren't enough (Beauchamp v. WestJet, 68-C-A-2023). More on weather delays
An earlier delayed flight	A knock-on delay counts as its original cause only if the airline took all reasonable steps to limit it (section 10(2)). Ask what it did to protect your flight.

What else Porter owes you during the disruption

Meals and a hotel, when the cause was within Porter's control (including safety) and you were told less than 12 hours ahead: food and drink after 2 hours, a means of communication, and a hotel plus transport overnight (section 14). For causes outside its control, Porter only offers help finding a discounted room, which the regulations allow.
A new flight or a refund after a delay of 3 hours or more or a cancellation (sections 17 and 18).
Refunds of extras you didn't get, such as paid seat selection (section 18.1).

If Porter refuses or doesn't answer in 30 days

Reply to the refusal and ask for the specific cause and the evidence behind it. If that fails, you can file a free complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency once you've written to Porter and either received its answer or waited 30 days. Expect a long wait: reports in 2026 put the backlog near 98,000 complaints and the average resolution time near 987 days. LandedLate writes the reply and prepares the answers for the agency's form.

Questions

When can I claim compensation from Porter?

48 hours after landing. Porter processes claims per passenger, per journey, so each traveller files their own. You have one year from the delay or cancellation (section 19(3)).

Porter offered me a credit. Do I have to take it?

For compensation, no: Porter says it pays in cash or equivalent, and a voucher only counts if it's worth more, never expires, and you accept it (section 21). For a cancellation outside Porter's control, Porter's default is a credit, but if it can't rebook you on a flight leaving within 48 hours of your original departure, you're entitled to a refund to your original form of payment (section 18(1.1)). Porter's own page says so too.

How much does Porter pay for meals during a delay?

When the cause is within its control, Porter gives meal vouchers or, if none are available, reimburses up to $35 a day ($8 breakfast, $12 lunch, $15 dinner). Claim those costs on Porter's separate expenses reimbursement form, with receipts.

Porter hasn't answered my claim in 30 days. What now?

The regulations give Porter 30 days to pay or explain (section 19(4)). The Canadian Transportation Agency has fined Porter for missing that deadline. Write to Porter again, then file a complaint with the agency.

Do I get compensation for a 2-hour Porter delay?

No. Compensation starts when you reach your final destination 3 or more hours late. At 2 hours you're owed food, drink and a means of communication if the cause was within Porter's control and you were told less than 12 hours ahead (section 14).

Sources

General information, not legal advice.