Submit a complaint about the Air Canada Strike? Expect a long waiting time – Moneysense

The Canadian transport agency said that the backlog of complaints from air travel was around 85,000 from August 14, two days before the strike began.

This year, the agency had received nearly 13,500 complaints from that date, which would not have included any complaints with regard to the work stoppage of Air Canada. The backlog has grown since the federal government has adopted rules that came into effect in 2019 that compensation amounts adopted for flight delays, cancellations and the like.

Complaints have almost quadrupled

The CTA implemented a new system in 2023 to increase its capacity to tackle complaints, but the number that is submitted is also swollen. The office received nearly 47,000 complaints during the 2024-25 financial year, an increase of approximately 43,500 in 2023-24 and 42,000 the year before. Complaints in 2022–23 shots from the previous year, when the agency received around 12,000.

“This unpredictability in complaint volumes is challenges in planning case processing times and providing accurate information to the public,” said CTA spokesperson Jadrino Huot in an E -mail. “To limit this risk, the CTA is constantly assessing its business processes and procedures, while they also use new technologies and tools to improve efficiency.”

Huot said that the CTA has concluded more than 33,600 complaints in the tax year of 2024–25, a strong increase compared to previous years, but not enough to reduce the growing backlog.

With the current Logjam, customers who have filed a complaint with the CTA can expect to wait 1.5 to two years for a resolution, if no longer as the system is more and more overwhelmed, Air passenger Rightacy Group President Gabor Lukacs said. He said that he recommends customers instead of bringing the airline to the court of a small claims, where things can often be resolved faster.

In the CTA, unsolved cases continue to stack in part because the Canadian Charter of the passenger rights “is” unnecessary and disproportionately complex “, especially in comparison with its European counterpart, Lukacs said. He said this increases how long it takes before the CTA has to decide whether a compensation by an airline is owed.

The agency has also not implemented costs for repair costs that force airlines to contribute to the costs of the complaints resolution process, he said. “The current strike and the aftermath and how passengers were treated proves Bears that the Canadian transport agency simply does not fulfill its function when it comes to the (regulations),” Lukacs said.

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First submit a claim to the airline

Huot said that with regard to the recent strike of Air Canada, the Canada Transportation Act stipulates that passengers first have to contact the airline with their claims. After doing this, passengers who still believe that the airline has not paid its obligations, or have not received a response within 30 days, submit a complaint to the CTA.

Air Canada has offered customers with canceled flights with regard to the work stop A full reimbursement or credit for future trips if they could not be reversed on the flight of a competitor. The company also announced a reimbursement policy for alternative transport and out-of-pocket costs last week.

Those with canceled Air Canada flights originally depart from 15 August to 23 August can submit a request to be reimbursed for the costs of their alternative schemes via a form on the Air Canada website. The policy also covers “reasonable costs” for hotel enclosures, meals and other related costs. It said it can take four to six weeks to repay the affected customers “because of the expected volume” of claims.

“If Air Canada is willing to do the right thing, I would go with the form,” said Lukacs. “But the shape is not the end of the road. The shape is only the start of the road. It is the easiest way in which Air Canada can do what is required by law.”

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