The federal government is currently weighing whether to renew funding meant to address a massive backlog of airline passenger complaints — funding that if not extended could result in Canadians having to wait longer to have their cases heard.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) — a quasi-judicial tribunal and regulator tasked with settling disputes between airlines and customers — has been dealing with a backlog of air passenger complaints since the air passenger bill of rights was introduced in 2019.
Those regulations require an airline to compensate passengers when a flight is delayed or cancelled for a reason that is within the airline’s control. Passengers who feel they’ve been unfairly denied compensation can bring their cases to the CTA.
In 2023, the federal government earmarked nearly $76 million for the CTA to clear the backlog, but that temporary funding is set to expire this year.
The backlog of complaints has more than doubled since the government set that money aside.
On the day the funding was announced, the backlog was estimated to be 42,000 complaints. The CTA told CBC News that it now sits at roughly 95,000 complaints.
For its part, the agency says the ballooning backlog is largely due to an increase in complaints — and it argues it has become more efficient since a new system was put in place in 2023.
“The CTA is currently trending towards its fourth straight year receiving over 40,000 complaints, and in January 2026, it received its highest ever monthly total of complaints at 5,685,” a CTA spokesperson said in an email.
Data from the agency’s annual report indicates it has gone from processing roughly 15,000 complaints (or fewer) per year to settling more than 30,000 in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Transport Minister Steven Mackinnon didn’t say one way or another if the funds would be renewed.
“We are aware of the concerns related to delays and the backlog of complaints. Our government continues to review the resources required to support the work of federal agencies and to respond to the needs of Canadians and passengers across the country,” the spokesperson said in an email.
The current funding decision is being weighed at a time when the Liberals are looking to trim costs government-wide.
Airline passenger complaint backlog at 88,000 cases
But Ian Jack, a spokesperson for the Canadian Automobile Association, said “anything that takes away resources from processing this enormous backlog is of concern.”
“These are Canadians who followed the government’s own rules and in good faith filed a complaint with the regulator. They deserve to be heard and to have that complaint processed and they deserve to have that happen within a reasonable amount of time,” Jack, whose association offers travel services including flight bookings, told CBC News.
“That’s not where we’re at now.”
Dan Albas, the Conservative transport critic, argued that Mackinnon isn’t seized with the transport file because he is running double duty as the government House leader.
“The minister needs to take control, show a plan and demonstrate the commitment that this government has to air passengers. Because right now, air passengers, all they have with the so-called airline passenger bill of rights, is the right to wait in line,” Albas said in an interview.
Jack argued that if the government moved forward on a promised overhaul to the air passenger rights regulations, it could alleviate pressure on the CTA.
“If the government brings forward amendments to the system — as they’ve said they would — that preserve passenger rights while making the system simpler and making it clearer for everybody involved … then we will drive down the future backlog hopefully,” Jack said.
Promised since 2023, the government and the agency still haven’t brought in the new regulations.
But Albas, who said the current system was “badly designed,” doesn’t seem confident the promised changes will help.
“I think we need to see a better plan from the government because so far giving [the CTA] more taxpayer money has not worked.… The people that deliver the service, they are worried about the potential impacts,” he said, specifically citing concerns he’s heard from rural and remote airports.
