Transport Canada warned about WestJet seating 'hazard' weeks before viral video: documents

< warm>Is a get down skim transportation charles frederick worth it if there's less legroom? We want to hear from you. Click the "Join the Conversation" button above. On the app? Join here.

The five-page safety hazard report — written by the Calgary-based employee and uncovered through an Access to Information request — was submitted to the federal department weeks before a video taken on Dec. 26, 2025, went viral. The video showed an Alberta family's experience with limited legroom and prompted questions about the safety and efficacy of the seat configuration.

On Jan. 16, WestJet announced it was reversing course on the seating layout.

However, the timing of when Transport Canada first became aware of the risk and its response raises questions about government action to address what is described as an "imminent safety risk."

The report, dated Dec. 5, was sent to Transport Canada's civil aviation branch.

In it, the flight attendant details an incident that occurred on Nov. 29 on a plane flying from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Calgary.

The reconfigured plane had been converted to squeeze an extra row on board, leaving some passengers with less legroom.

A passenger sitting in the aisle seat, who was described as having a "large height and body structure (not obese related)," could not fit into the seat, causing his knees, legs and upper body to extend significantly into the row, the report states.

The cabin crew decided to move the passenger to a seat with more legroom, but he became "physically trapped" and "remained stuck in his seat," unable to stand or exit the row on his own.

"I lifted the armrest to create additional clearance, and his daughter (seat 20B) assisted by pushing his legs to the side. Only then, was he able to stand by himself and exit the row," the flight attendant wrote.

"He could not self-evacuate ... Due to the new pitch, legroom and lack of space," wrote the employee, who said the issue was a direct result of lack of space due to the new seat configuration.

The crew member writes that, in the case of an emergency, this would endanger not only the passenger but those sitting in the middle and window seats, who would be trapped and unable to exit the row.

The flight attendant wrote that the safety hazard report was also submitted to WestJet and said that the intention was not to place the airline in a "difficult position" but to ensure the risk is addressed "under the guidance of Transport Canada."

"I am intentionally using the term "imminent risk" because a real obstruction occurred and could (or would) occur again under similar conditions," the report states.

The flight attendant then wrote that the hazard should be addressed "proactively" and "requires prompt review." On Dec. 30, Transport Canada responded to the sender, saying it had followed up with WestJet about the concerns raised.

"[National Flight Operations] is satisfied that the operator is assessing this hazard and others associated with the 180-seat cabin configuration in accordance with the operator's approved Safety Management System. NFO will continue to monitor the airline's management of these risks," the response read.

On Jan. 7, Lindsay Noble and her husband, Rob, who is six feet three inches tall, boarded a WestJet plane from Cancun, Mexico, back to Regina, about a five-and-a-half-hour flight.

But she was startled when they sat down. "It was not safe for him to be sitting in that seat," she said.

"First thing I thought was his knees, if we hit turbulence, are going to get cracked up against this metal [armrest]. Second, there's no way that he could actually get into the brace position," she said, referring to a safety posture for airline passengers during an emergency landing.

Noble said a flight attendant later moved her husband to a different seat with more legroom.

When asked about how the government department was alerted to the issue weeks before the couple got on their plane, Noble had some choice words.

"I'm disappointed. I'm frustrated," she said. "I can't believe that you ignored something that involves passenger safety. That's why you exist."

Kamaal Zaidi, an assistant law professor at the University of Calgary, said how often crew members file reports to Transport Canada depends on the nature of the complaint.

"Usually they go internally first. If they feel that their grievances have not been met or that they have been ignored in some fashion or that there is no action pending, then they usually will go to these complaints processes and mechanisms within the agency," he said.

Zaidi said the response from Transport Canada to the flight attendant is not uncommon.

"It's a really discretionary matter as to whether they find anything of substance to move forward with it or not. They might have reviewed the complaint, but there's not much in their eyes and their estimate on expertise that they have that they should move ahead with this," he said.

Seat pitch — the distance between the back of a seat to the same point on the seat in front — is not regulated by the federal government.

"It’s really up to the agency and the federal government to initiate some changes in legislation to give more guidance to what public safety and convenience means, that is, the airworthiness of the airline,” Zaidi said.

It is not clear if the investigation into the complaint from the WestJet employee is completed.

"Upon completion of an investigation, Transport Canada will thoroughly review the case to determine the appropriate deterrent action to impose, should the evidence indicate that the operator has contravened a provision of these regulations or of the Aeronautics Act, and will not hesitate to take action as required," the statement reads.

Transport Canada did not answer questions about why it did not step in after the safety risk was flagged and why it is still allowing passengers on those planes, even though a hazard has been flagged to the government. It also did not respond when asked about criticism that it is not proactive in passenger safety.

"Since then, we have transitioned three of the aircraft that were originally outfitted with the 180‑seat configuration to an updated 174‑seat layout,” WestJet said.

The airline did not respond to questions about why it is still using planes an employee identified as having safety risks or how it is assuring Canadians that safety is top of mind if an employee felt the need to warn Transport Canada about the planes.

Instead, the airline stressed in its statement that the densified seating layout went through a safety and certification process.

"All modifications were completed in accordance with Transport Canada's rigorous airworthiness standards and WestJet's own high internal safety requirements."

The airline did not answer questions about the timeline for all converted aircraft to be reverted back.

Senior reporter

Julia Wong is a senior reporter based in Edmonton.

---

---