A push to compel airlines to pay for passenger complaints resolved by the Canadian Transportation Agency has so far gone nowhere, highlighted by the CBC’s investigative unit, Go Public.

Internal government documents, obtained by Go Public via an Access to Information request, suggest that Transport Canada, under two different Transport Ministers, “repeatedly intervened in the work of the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), which is supposed to operate independently and was directed by Parliament to introduce a cost-recovery fee on airlines,” according to the CBC.

In September 2024 the CTA launched a one-month consultation on the proposed reforms, which would apply to valid customer complaints processed and settled by the regulator. According to the proposal, airlines would be charged $790 for each passenger complaint resolved by the CTA, regardless of which party wins the dispute.

The agency estimated it would be able to close just over 22,600 air travel complaints per year, amounting to roughly $17.9 million in fees charged to airlines, and said the charge aimed to cover 60% of the projected $29.8-million annual cost of handling eligible complaints.

At that time airlines submitted their feedback and shared their thoughts with Travelweek.

In August 2025, just before strike action by Air Canada’s flight attendants, the CTA’s backlog of air travel complaints stood at about 85,000.

The CBC says the backlog now stands at about 88,000. The CBC’s Go Public investigation can be found here.