Getting compensated for your delayed flight from two years ago isn’t getting any easier.
Driving the news: A CBC News investigation found that Transport Canada repeatedly delayed the implementation of a policy that would force airlines to help cover the costs of Canada’s air passenger complaint system.
The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) was directed by Parliament in 2023 to introduce a new cost-recovery fee for airlines to help cover the ~$30 million it costs to process flyer complaints every year.
But documents CBC obtained allegedly show the independent agency was blocked from doing so, at least in part, because of intervention from two transport ministers.
Why it matters: With grievances over delays, cancellations, and lost luggage piling up, Canada’s air travel complaint system is facing a backlog of over 88,000 claims. New complaints can now take over two years to resolve, up from about 18 months in 2023.
The goal of the fee was to make airlines, rather than taxpayers, pay for the system to manage complaints stemming from issues they caused, like flight delays.
Yes, but: Airlines argue that the high fees they already fork over to airports, and the government, are what make air travel so expensive in Canada, and any extra fees they’re forced to pay would likely just be passed right back to flyers.—LA
