The Canadian Transport Agency (CTA) has recorded a historic high of over 71,000 accumulated complaints.

The quasi-judicial regulatory body and tribunal responsible for resolving disputes between customers and airlines stated that the volume of accumulated work is increasing as the number of incoming complaints continues to rise.

In the last fiscal year, 43,549 passenger complaints were submitted to the CTA, and between April 1 and April 25, 2024, the agency says it received 3,291 complaints.

In 2023, the federal government granted Canadian transport $76 million over three years to help resolve the accumulated complaints from air travelers.

Parliament also introduced new regulations effective September 30 that were supposed to simplify the process of filing complaints under air passenger protection regulations.

Tom Omin, the director general of the analysis and outreach branch of the Canadian Transport Agency, also stated that the change allowing a single employee to resolve complaints by following up from start to finish accelerates the process, adding that the agency's complaint resolution officials are now required to close the case within 90 days of issuing a notice of initiation.

He added: “We have a much better system, it works as expected and will become more efficient... It has only been in place since September 30."

Despite the regulatory changes, Omin said he could not estimate how long it would take to resolve new complaints or gauge when the accumulated complaints will be resolved.

For their part, passenger rights advocates say the European Union has a much simpler process that places the burden on airlines to compensate when air travelers face delays, cancellations, or lost luggage.

While the recent changes made by the federal government are a step in the right direction, Gabor Lukacs, founder of air passenger rights, said the EU approach should be seen as the "gold standard."

Lukacs also said he encourages passengers to avoid the CTA due to long wait times and a complicated process and to go directly to small claims court instead.

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