Court rules against airline employee who called immigration on traveler

The airline now has to pay more than $4,000 in damages.

Apr 18, 2025 - 17:56

Court rules against airline employee who called immigration on traveler

While treatment of travelers at the border is at the top of the news cycle in the current political climate, certain cases of unfair detainment or boarding refusal date back years and are only now getting their day in court.

In a 2017 incident, Venezuelan national Paula Mejias and her three children were denied boarding on an Air Canada (ACDVF) flight to Toronto's Pearson International Airport (YYZ) from Panama City. Suspecting that Mejias was at risk of overstaying her visa, an airline employee denied them boarding and contacted Canada's Border Services Agency. Their travel documents were also marked with the chilling "CANCELLED" note.

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'Airlines should not meddle with immigration-related matters,' says traveler denied boarding

Mejias and her three children then spent 33 days stuck in transit in Panama as the Canadian embassy officials worked out that they had a right to visit Mejias' husband who was completing graduate studies at a Canadian university. A Canadian immigration official canceled the visas based on information provided by the airline.

While Air Canada eventually restored their travel documents and put them on a flight to Toronto, the family had by then spent more than a month in a foreign country where they did not have a place to live.

The Mejias family took its case to court and, on April 11, the Federal Court of Canada ruled that Air Canada was in the wrong to deny them boarding and must pay $4,100 Canadian dollars (roughly $2,960 USD) as restitution for the damages they suffered in 2017.

In a statement on the ruling, Mejias expressed happiness that the ruling "recognizes that airlines should not meddle with immigration-related matters." The family eventually achieved permanent residency in Canada and now call the country their permanent home.

In Canada, the ruling sets precedent that the flagship carrier overstepped its authority in contacting immigration about the traveler's status.

The judge ruled that Air Canada was in the wrong in denying a passenger boarding.
Image source: Shutterstock

In a statement to the Toronto Star, an Air Canada representative said that "this ruling creates great uncertainty for all airlines about their obligations under Canada's immigration laws."

Airline staff are required both legally and by policy to check whether passengers have a passport or visa to fly into a country and in particular, a country they are entering with a one-way ticket. The carrier is also required to provide return transportation to any traveler denied at customs.

Air Canada responds, calls ruling 'troubling'

Document verification at check-in is designed to minimize such situations and, Air Canada argued, the risk of being sued creates an environment in which staff are unable to properly vet travelers. The airline further called the ruling "troubling."

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In defending the case, it also argued that both the staff member and the airline itself can face penalties for non-compliance on immigration checks.

Travelers will occasionally share similar situations where their visa to enter Canada was canceled based on information that airlines provided to immigration on social media platforms like Reddit. In one case, a Ukrainian citizen was denied boarding by Canadian low-cost carrier Flair Air who similarly flagged a potential problem with a work visa.