New rules took effect yesterday regarding flight delays and cancellations, and that include requiring airlines to seat parents beside or near their children at no extra cost. The rules also compensate flyers for delays and cancellations within an airline’s control – delays resulting from weather or mechanical issues are exempted.

The regulators are also promising public awareness help in the face of polling that suggests many people boarding flights don’t know about the new regime.

This is the second phase of new passenger-rights rules.

The first ones landed in mid-July and required airlines to compensate and respond to tarmac delays, denied boardings and lost or damaged luggage.

A mandate letter given yesterday to Transport Minister Marc Garneau instructs him to look at a much broader change to how Canada’s airports operate.

The Canadian government wants to include making planes and trains more accessible; making Canada’s airports more efficient and accountable to travellers; and setting standards to limit the amount of time travellers spend waiting at airport security.