Flight Pass Restrictions

The purpose of this message is to update you on a minor amendment to the Departmental Travel Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures (THCEE) Policy (PDF, 216 KB) (section 4.3.4 & definition).  This adjustment is a direct result of recent monitoring and a risk-based assessment. Specifically, the use and/or purchase of flight passes are not permitted within ESDC for the following reasons:

• Inability to track usage making monitoring challenging and costly;
• Difficulty in demonstrating cost savings;
• Selection of flights is limited and may not meet business needs;
• Increased risk of misuse, which leads to Internal Control risks;
• Flight passes are valid for a specific period of time, which increases risk of expiry and use for non-critical travel as a means of avoiding expiry;
• In the name of individual, not the department, so it cannot be transferred if and when an employee leaves the department;
• Previous government study recommended against the use of flight passes.

Please note, there will be a transition period for employees who currently hold flight passes, but new ones will not be authorized. This change took effect on March 5^th, 2019.

Our tools and reference material will be updated to reflect these changes, and the operational impact is expected to be minimal. However, if you and/or your staff have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Financial Policy team NC-CFOB-Financial_Policy_Questions_Politique_Financière-GD.

In addition, a review was conducted on airfare being selected by travelers. It was noted during the review that some employees (Executives and non-executives) do not always select the lowest airfare available and can pay up to 4 times the cost of the lowest fare. We would like to remind you that when travelling, the Treasury Board THCEE Directive requires that arrangements be made as early as possible and that the most economical means of travel be selected. Delegated managers should ensure that travel requests are approved in accordance with this requirement for both public servants and non-public servants.

More information on the Departmental Travel Hospitality, Conference and Event Expenditures (THCEE) Policy (PDF, 216 KB).