Federal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre offered sympathy but little else last week for frustrated passengers stranded by the Jetsgo bankruptcy.
And Prime Minister Paul Martin said outside cabinet that the situation is "very regrettable," but Lapierre had outlined the federal response.
Jetsgo announced in the dead of night that it was going out of business and grounding all flights immediately as thousands of passengers prepared to jet away for March break, one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
The airline typically flew to about 20 destinations in Canada and 10 in the United States. The cancelled flights caused mass disruption for passengers all over the country.
Lapierre said that some provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, have compensation plans covering tickets bought through travel agents. Some credit cards may also have insurance premiums.
For others, though, such as people who booked directly through the airline on the Internet, there may be no help.
That outraged the Consumers Association of Canada.
The federal government should have kept a more careful eye on the troubled carrier to better protect the flying public, said Mel Fruitman, vice-president of the consumer group.
Airline watchdogs set up by Ottawa, ostensibly to protect consumers, have few teeth to really work, he added.
For now, the federal government is urging other airlines and Via Rail to try to boost their capacity to move more than 17,000 passengers.
But the transport minister noted that other carriers aren't obliged to accept Jetsgo tickets.
Part of the problem, Lapierre said, was that Jetsgo sold seats at prices it couldn't honour itself.
The minister said Jetsgo's unexpected collapse is something that happens in a competitive market.
He said he doesn't believe a Transport Canada 30-day ultimatum issued late last week to Jetsgo ordering it to address some safety issues sparked the bankruptcy.
Lapierre said the government didn't know the state of the airline's finances because it's a private company.
"We deeply regret that this had to happen," said Jetsgo president Michel Leblanc. "The decision to cease operations was only taken after difficult deliberation."
