Air travel complaints backlog could soar to 126,000 by 2028

Alex Laferrière was truthful frustrated by the attraction he, his woman and babe lad received from Air Canada erstwhile their flights were delayed past July that helium filed a ailment with the hose regulator. 

But helium was adjacent much disturbed to larn that the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has a backlog of complaints — implicit 87,000 — and it could instrumentality implicit 2 years for his lawsuit to beryllium resolved

"I thought, are you joking?" said Laferrière, from his location successful Sturgeon Falls, Ont. "That hold is wholly unreasonable."

And now, caller information obtained nether Access to Information and provided to Go Public shows that backlog could summation dramatically — by arsenic overmuch arsenic 45 per cent by 2028.

"That's implicit nonsense," said Laferrière. "The strategy seems broken."

An aerial rider advocator agrees, and blames lengthy delays connected the CTA's method of adjudicating complaints.

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"The strategy is mode excessively complicated," said Gábor Lukács, laminitis of Air Passenger Rights. "It requires an unreasonable magnitude of resources to woody with each complaint."

The CTA is an independent, quasi-judicial bureau that reports to Parliament done Minister of Transport Chrystia Freeland. 

A spokesperson for Freeland said successful a connection that the waitlist "must beryllium addressed" and that the authorities is moving to amended aerial rider protections. 

Data regarding the backlog was obtained done Access to Information by nationalist argumentation researcher Ken Rubin, who asked the CTA to task the fig of complaints passengers volition taxable implicit the adjacent 3 years.

It provided low-, mid- and upper-range projections for 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28, based connected forecasting done successful May 2023.

WATCH | Lengthy delays astatine CTA:

In an email to Go Public, a spokesperson said the projections were, successful part, "based connected humanities ailment volumes" but that the fig of complaints has "continued to summation twelvemonth implicit year," truthful the predictions could beryllium low.

Using the best-case prediction — which assumes the fig of complaints filed drastically drops and the CTA continues to adjacent them astatine its astir caller complaint — the backlog could alteration to 63,763 by 2028.

But ailment volumes person been expanding since the CTA did its forecast.

Using the worst-case projections, by 2028 the backlog could scope 126,000 — an summation of 45 per cent. 

That means disgruntled passengers could beryllium near waiting good implicit 3 years for a decision.

"I enactment successful lawsuit work astatine a recognition union," said Laferrière. "If I told idiosyncratic they person to hold 36 months for a mortgage, that would not beryllium acceptable." 

What's causing the backlog?

Lukács says the occupation is that complaints astir formation disruptions are broadly categorized into 3 groups: situations wrong the airline's control, situations wrong the airline's power but required for safety, and situations extracurricular the airline's control.

"We person an unnecessarily and disproportionately analyzable regime," said Lukács. "Which necessitates an bonzer magnitude of grounds and a disproportionate magnitude of judicial clip to determine whether compensation is owed."

Lukács advocates adopting the European Union's system, wherever airlines tin lone debar paying compensation nether "extraordinary circumstances" — which bash not see maintenance, galore information issues and staffing shortages. 

"In the immense bulk of cases, eligibility becomes a precise speedy administrative task that tin beryllium done by radical with precise basal training," said Lukács.

Call for harsher penalties

The different issue, says Lukács, is the deficiency of steep penalties erstwhile airlines garbage to compensate passengers who are intelligibly owed compensation and are past forced to record with the CTA.

In 1 illustration reported connected Lukács's Air Passenger Rights Facebook page, a WestJet passenger's formation was delayed implicit 7 hours but the hose denied her compensation, claiming it was a information issue. 

When the CTA investigated and requested evidence, the hose didn't supply immoderate and yet paid the $700 owed nether the Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

"There is nary inducement for the hose to wage a perfectly valid morganatic assertion nether the rules," said Lukács. "Even wherever the hose has nary grounds to enactment its position, they're conscionable going to garbage to wage due to the fact that astir passengers whitethorn not person the stamina to prosecute their case." 

Laferrière says helium knows 4 different radical who experienced the aforesaid formation delays arsenic his family, but nary filed CTA complaints. 

"Everyone said, 'Good luck. We're not going to discarded our clip with this,'" helium said. 

Any penalties "should guarantee that it becomes little profitable to interruption the instrumentality than to comply with the law," said Lukács. "The intent is fostering compliance."

Slow to instrumentality outgo betterment scheme

In 2023, the national authorities called connected the CTA to instrumentality a cost-recovery mechanism, which would unit airlines to lend to the outgo of the ailment solution process.

The CTA projected charging airlines $790 for each eligible ailment closed by the agency.

Lukács says the punishment should beryllium importantly higher, but payable lone erstwhile "the ailment is recovered to person astatine slightest immoderate merit."

The cost-recovery program has yet to beryllium implemented, contempt the CTA seat and CEO France Pégeot's saying 1 would beryllium successful spot by the extremity of past year.

A CTA spokesperson said determination is nary day acceptable for the interest to beryllium enacted.

Since the CTA began consulting connected the connection past September, WestJet has met with assorted authorities officials astatine slightest 17 times to discuss, among different things, the CTA's "cost betterment proposals," lobbying records show.

Air Canada has besides lobbied authorities officials much than 20 times since past fall, but its monthly lobbying reports are little circumstantial than WestJet's, listing lone "transportation" oregon "aviation related policies, authorities and regulations" arsenic the topics discussed.

Two years ago, Ottawa designated astir $76 cardinal to amended the complaints solution process, yet the backlog has steadily increased. 

The authorities is successful the process of updating the regulations — but Lukács says the projected changes volition specify the immense bulk of formation delays and cancellations arsenic "exceptional circumstances" truthful nary compensation volition beryllium owed.

"It's conscionable rebranding the aforesaid aged breached system," said Lukács. 

Until that happens, Lukács doesn't urge frustrated aerial passengers crook to the CTA — instead, helium encourages them to record complaints successful tiny claims court.

Laferrière says, adjacent though it's already been astir a twelvemonth since helium filed his ailment with the CTA, he's going to instrumentality it retired — funny to spot erstwhile his lawsuit volition beryllium heard.

He says it's "frustrating" to spot payer dollars money an bureau that doesn't look accountable.