If you are denied boarding, your flight is cancelled or delayed for at least two hours, or your baggage is lost or damaged, you may be entitled to certain standards of treatment and compensation under the Air Passenger Protection Regulations. For more information about your passenger rights please visit the Canadian Transportation Agency’s website.
General terms and conditions relating to flight delays, cancellations, denied boarding, seating of children, and lost or damaged baggage can be found here.
For flight delays, cancellations, denied boarding, seating of children, and lost or damaged baggage.
If your flight is delayed or cancelled, we’ll inform you of the reason.
See below for information on the compensation and standards of treatment to which you may be entitled, as well as the recourse you have available.
Rebooking & Refund
Situations within our control or required for safety
If your flight is delayed 3 (three) hours or more, or cancelled, we’ll rebook you for the next available flight operated by Azores Airlines or one of our partner airlines and is travelling on any reasonable air route from your departure airport to your final destination.
If the rebooking options offered do not accommodate your travel needs:
- Where you are no longer at your point of origin indicated on your original ticket and the trip no longer serves a purpose because of the delay or cancellation, we will refund your ticket and return you to your point of origin;
- In any other case, we will refund the unused portion of your ticket.
Situations outside our control
If, due to a situation that is outside our control, your flight is delayed 3 (three) hours or more, or cancelled, we’ll rebook you on the next available flight operated by Azores Airlines or one of our partner airlines and is travelling on any reasonable air route from your departure airport to your final destination and departs within 48 hours of your original departure time, if available.
If it is not possible to provide a rebooking in accordance with the above, you can choose to be rebooked on the next available flight operated by Azores Airlines or one of our partner airlines on any reasonable air route to your destination or to receive a refund of the unused portion of your ticket. If you are no longer at your point of origin indicated on your original ticket and the trip no longer serves a purpose because of the delay or cancellation, we will refund your ticket and return you to your point of origin.
Standards of Treatment
In cases of delays or cancellation due to a situation within Azores Airlines’ control or required for safety purposes, if you:
- Have been informed of the delay or cancellation less than 12 (twelve) hours before the departure time indicated on your ticket, and
- Have waited 2 (two) hours after the departure time indicated on your ticket
We’ll provide you with the following:
- Food and drink in reasonable quantities, considering the length of the wait, the time of day, and the location;
- Access to a means of communication; and
- Hotel or other comparable accommodation that is reasonable in relation to the location of the passenger, as well as transportation to the hotel or other accommodation and back to the airport, if we expect you will be required to wait overnight for your flight.
Compensation
If, due to a situation within Azores Airlines’ control and not required for safety purposes, your flight was delayed 3 (three) hours or more, or cancelled, you’ll be entitled to receive compensation for inconvenience under the APPR, unless:
- You do not have a confirmed booking or are travelling on a fare that isn’t available, directly or indirectly, to the public;
- You are informed of the delay or cancellation at least 15 days before the scheduled time of departure;
- You have already been paid denied boarding compensation;
- You have already been paid under another passenger rights regime for the same event;
- You failed to submit your claim within one year of the flight delay or cancellation.
Inconvenience compensation for delays and cancellations is calculated based on your arrival time at your final destination and is:
- 125 CAD for delays at arrival between 3 and 6 hours;
- 250 CAD for delays at arrival between 6 and 9 hours; and
- 500 CAD for delays at arrival of 9 hours and more.
However, if you have received a refund of any portion of your ticket, the amount of inconvenience compensation is 125 CAD.
Tarmac delay
During prolonged delays on the tarmac after boarding or after landing, Azores Airlines will facilitate access to medical assistance if a passenger requires it urgently and provide:
- Access to lavatories in working order;
- Proper ventilation and cooling or heating of the aircraft;
- Means to communicate with people outside the aircraft, if feasible; and
- Food and drink in reasonable quantities, taking into account the length of the delay, the time of day and the location of the airport.
Passengers will be given information every 30 minutes, including the reason for the delay on the tarmac.
If a flight is delayed on the tarmac at an airport in Canada, Azores Airlines will provide an opportunity for passengers to disembark three hours after the aircraft doors have been closed for take-off or three hours, or earlier if feasible, after the flight has landed unless:
- It is likely that take-off will occur less than three hours and 45 minutes after the doors of the aircraft are closed for take-off or after the flight has landed; and
- It remains possible to provide the standards of treatment described above.
Recourse
Please contact Azores Airlines Customer Care to file a claim or for any concerns and complaints at Customer Care | Azores Airlines.
If you feel that we have not resolved your issue to your satisfaction, you may also contact the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). You can visit the website of the CTA to learn more about your rights at otc-cta.gc.ca/eng or call the CTA for further information at 1-888-222-2592.
Full details can be found at General Conditions of Carriage | Azores Airlines
SATA_Internacional_Azores_Airlines_Tariff_December_19_2024.pdf
Proceedings
If you’re denied boarding, we’ll tell you why you were denied boarding. Information on the compensation and standards of treatment to which you may be entitled, as well as the recourse you have available, is contained herein.
In cases of denial of boarding due to situations within the carrier’s control or required for safety purposes, Azores Airlines will first ask for volunteers willing to give up their seat in exchange for compensation.
If there aren’t enough volunteers, we may deny boarding to passengers holding a confirmed booking in accordance with our policy on denied boarding priority.
In particular, we’ll give boarding priority, in the following order, to:
- Unaccompanied minors;
- Passengers with a disability and their support person or service animal, if any;
- Passengers travelling with family members;
- Passengers who were previously denied boarding on the same ticket, provided the carrier is informed.
More detailed information on boarding priorities and denied boarding can be found in our tariffs denied boarding rule at General Conditions of Carriage | Azores Airlines _ SATA_Internacional_Azores_Airlines_Tariff_December_19_2024.pdf
To help reduce your chances of being denied boarding on future travel, we recommend that you check in early or that you pre-select your seat when booking.
Rebooking & Refund
Situations within our control or required for safety:
If you are denied boarding due to a situation that is within our control or required for safety, we’ll rebook you on the next available flight operated by Azores Airlines or one of our partner airlines and is travelling on any reasonable air route from your departure airport to your final destination.
If the rebooking options offered do not accommodate your travel needs:
- Where you are no longer at your point of origin indicated on your original ticket and the trip no longer serves a purpose because of the delay or cancellation, we will refund your ticket and return you to your point of origin;
- In any other case, we will refund the unused portion of your ticket.
Situations outside our control:
If you are denied boarding due to a situation that is outside our control, we’ll rebook you on the next available flight operated by Azores Airlines or one of our partner airlines and is travelling on any reasonable air route from your departure airport to your final destination.
If you refuse the rebooking options we offer because the travel no longer serves a purpose, and you choose not to travel, we can refund the unused portion of your ticket.
Standards of Treatment
If, due to a Situation within Azores Airlines’ control or required for safety purposes, you're denied boarding, we'll provide you with the following before you board your next flight booked as part of your alternate travel arrangements, unless this would further delay you:
- Food and drink in reasonable quantities, considering the length of the wait, the time of day, and the location;
- Access to a means of communication; and
- Hotel or comparable accommodation within a reasonable distance from the airport for overnight delays for out-of-town passengers, subject to availability.
Compensation
If you’re a passenger who is denied boarding because of a situation within our control and is not required for safety purposes, you’ll be entitled to receive denied boarding compensation, unless:
- You haven’t fully complied with ticketing and check-in requirements, or you do not satisfy the conditions for transportation under Azores Airlines’ tariff and general conditions of carriage.
For more information, consult our tariffs’ refusal to transport rule at SATA_Internacional_Azores_Airlines_Tariff_December_19_2024.pdf
- You’re offered transportation on another seat on the same flight as the one specified on your ticket, at no extra charge.
Applicable amounts:
Denied boarding compensation is calculated based on your arrival time at the destination and is:
- 900 CAD (if delayed by less than 6 hours);
- 1,800 CAD (if delayed between 6 and 9 hours);
- 2,400 CAD (if delayed by 9 hours or more).
*Please note that you are not entitled to receive delay or cancellation compensation if you have already been paid denied boarding compensation.
Recourse
Please contact Azores Airlines Customer Care for any concerns or complaints at Customer Care | Azores Airlines
If you feel that we have not resolved your issue to your satisfaction, you may also contact the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA). You can visit the website of the CTA to learn more about your rights at www.otc-cta.gc.ca/eng or call the CTA for 'further information at 1-888-222-2592.
Lost, Delayed or Damaged baggage
Delayed baggage
Azores Airlines always does their best to make sure your belongings arrive at your destination with you. If this doesn’t happen, Azores Airlines’ team will support you. Follow the steps below to find out
What should you do?
Report at the airport
If you’ve arrived at your final destination on an Azores Airlines flight and can’t find your checked bag, please report it to SATA Azores Airlines’ Lost & Found Services or the handling agent at the airport of arrival. If you have not done so before, you must submit a complaint by email (lost.found@sata.pt) to the airline as soon as possible.
In situations where checked baggage is delayed, notice of your complaint must be made by email within 21 days and, in case of damage, within 7 days, in accordance with the Montreal Convention. In both situations, it must count from the date on which the baggage was delivered.
Processing
Once you have an Irregularity report number (ex. YYZSP12345) you can review or update your Delayed Baggage/Damaged Baggage File by using the link below.
WorldTracerWeb Internet
If you incur any expenses due to baggage delay, you must file a written claim with the airline, including all supporting documentation within two years, in accordance with the Montreal Convention.
Delivery and pick-up
Once your baggage arrives, our baggage agents will make arrangements for delivery. Pickup at the airport is only available if you’ve already arranged in advance with one of our baggage agents.
If your baggage is being delivered, our delivery service will reach out by email, SMS, or phone using the contact information you’ve provided, then arrange a suitable time for delivery to the address on file.
If you select the pick-up option with one of our baggage agents at the airport, you’ll be contacted to arrange a pick-up time.
Customs clearance can affect delivery processing times and may also require the passengers to collect their luggage.
In case of damage, we'll either have your bag replaced or repaired, as deemed appropriate.
Refund for baggage fees
If your checked bag is delayed or damaged and your baggage fee was collected by Azores Airlines, you can request a refund of that fee by contacting our Customer Care.
More details can be found at Damaged, delayed or lost baggage | Azores Airlines
Limits of responsibility
For damaged, lost or delayed baggage, the limits of liability are those set out by the Montreal Convention, being 1,519 Special Drawing Rights, unless a special declaration of value has been made by the passenger.
Azores Airlines has a comprehensive policy that ensures every reasonable effort is made by our airport staff, flight attendants and through in-flight procedures, to seat children under the age of 14 in close proximity to their accompanying adult. Families may also opt to pay advance seat selection fees.
To facilitate the seating of children under the age of 14 in close proximity to their accompanying adult, at no additional charge, Azores Airlines will:
- Assign a seat before check-in to the child that is in close proximity to the accompanying person;
- If not done prior to check-in, Azores Airlines will:
- Advise passengers before check-in that it will facilitate seat assignment to children in close proximity to an accompanying person at no additional charge at the time of check-in or at the boarding gate;
- Assign seats at the time of check-in, if possible;
- If not possible, ask for volunteers to change seats at the time of boarding; and
- If there no passengers volunteer to change seats at the time of boarding, ask again for volunteers on-board the aircraft to change seats before take-off.
Thus, Azores Airlines, at no extra cost and at the earliest opportunity, will ensure children under the age of 14 are near to their parent, guardian, or tutor. The proximity depends on the age of the child:
- Under the age of 5:
in a seat adjacent to their parent, guardian or tutor. - Aged 5 to 11:
in the same row and separated by no more than one seat from their parent, guardian or tutor. - Aged 12 or 13:
separated by no more than a row from the parent, guardian, or tutor.
Azores Airlines also have established a policy for unaccompanied minors and prohibit minors under the age of five from travelling without their parent or an accompanying person who is at least 18 years old. For more details, please visit Unaccompanied Children Transportation | Azores Airlines.