Air Canada employees feared they would be punished by managers if they reported safety concerns, according to a never-before released report from a 2013 government inspection of the country’s largest airline.The finding by Transport Canada raises questions about the strength of the airline’s internal system meant to flag risks before they become safety problems.But the public is only learning about the five-year-old inspection results now because Air Canada had taken the federal government to court to try to block portions of the records from being released through Access to Information legislation. The airline said disclosure would be “misleading” and bad for business.“Some employees felt uncomfortable about submitting a safety report because of the possibility of being interviewed, for the purpose of safety report investigation, by the same person who had the authority to take disciplinary measures,” inspectors found in a October 2013 audit of the airline’s internal safety management system, obtained by the Star.In April, a federal court judge ruled that Air Canada failed to show how public disclosure could result in material financial harm to the airline. The records were finally released in late September.Air Canada said in a statement that the inspection report “references isolated observations and is not representative.”“No employee has ever been disciplined for filing a safety report at Air Canada,” spokesperson Peter Fitzpatrick said. “Air Canada actively encourages safety reporting by all employees.”Last year, the airline’s staff filed nearly 26,000 internal safety management system reports, covering anything from a tripping hazard in a hangar to a plane taking a “go-around” because the conditions are not right for a landing, Fitzpatrick said. “(This is) evidence that our employees are highly engaged safety professionals,” he said.Large airlines i ...
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