'No timeline' for updating air passenger bill of rights, regulator says

Canada's transportation regulator says it has no timeline for releasing updates to the air passenger bill of rights, despite concluding consultations on proposed changes more than a year ago.

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) — the quasi-judicial tribunal and regulator tasked with enforcing air passenger rights and compensation rules, known informally as the air passenger bill of rights — proposed an updated set of regulations in July of 2023 and subsequently conducted consultations on them.

The agency released the results of those consultations in November of last year, but has yet to reveal a finalized draft of the proposed regulations.

"We are taking these comments into consideration as we are drafting proposed regulations," a CTA spokesperson told CBC News in an email last month.

When asked when a final draft would be coming, the spokesperson said there was "no timeline."

The air passenger protection regulations require airlines to compensate passengers for delays or cancellations that are within their control.

But since the regulations came into force in 2019, the CTA has been dealing with a backlog of complaints from passengers who have accused airlines of unfairly denying them compensation. The backlog exploded as pandemic-era travel restrictions began to ease.

The Liberal government promised improvements to the compensation rules as part of the 2023 federal budget. The CTA — an arm's-length government organization — proposed that the new regulations require airlines to compensate passengers for flight disruptions unless they can prove "exceptional circumstances" caused the delay or cancellation.

The exceptional circumstances proposed by the agency include weather concerns, airport operational issues and "hidden manufacturing defects" in an aircraft.

A spokesman for Transport Minister Anita Anand said she expects an update to the regulations "as soon as possible as there is no time to waste."

Advocate says agency needs to 'get on with it'

Ian Jack, a spokesperson for the non-profit Canadian Automobile Association travel agency, said the new regulations need to be released as soon as possible so that issues with the current system can be remedied.

"There are plenty of ways to try to fix this system. We need to get on with it," he told CBC News.

Once the CTA publishes the draft regulations, it still needs to hear back from stakeholders before they are finalized and enforced. Jack warned that process could take "months, if not years."

"Were the government to print these draft regs tomorrow, we'd still be some time away from them coming into force," he said.

"We need to get something out in public as soon as possible so we can keep the ball rolling towards eventual improvements."

In the meantime, Canadian passengers will be relying on current regulations that haven't been very effective for them, Jack said.

The CTA said earlier this month that the backlog of air passenger complaints now sits at over 80,000. While the agency said that a new resolution process implemented last year has allowed it to process complaints faster, it is still being flooded with new complaints — an average of 890 per week in the last year.

"With the backlog of over 80,000 complaints at this point, the system is clearly not as efficient as it could be. It should be in everybody's interest to try to make it more efficient," Jack said.

Jeff Morrison, president of the National Airline Council of Canada, argued the CTA shouldn't rush the new regulations.

"Canadian airlines do their best to provide travellers a journey that is predictable and timely. Over the course of the last two years, the industry has delivered an improved passenger experience and will continue to collaborate with all stakeholders for further improvement," Morrison said in a media statement.

"We encourage the CTA to take the time necessary to properly consult with impacted stakeholders who stand to be negatively impacted by the proposed regulations."

Budget 2023 also proposed that airlines be charged a fee to cover the cost of processing a complaint when the company is found to have been in the wrong. The CTA recently concluded consultations on a proposed fee of $790 per complaint.

Jack suggested that setting the fee shouldn't be hindering the development of the regulations. 

"Improving the system so that it works better for consumers is what we're pushing for. How much, if anything, carriers need to pay for that system is a separate question," he said.