Air Passenger Complaints To Canada’s Transportation Regulator Soar
SOME COMPLAINTS ARE TAKING A YEAR-AND-A-HALF TO ADDRESS
Courtesy of Barrie 360 and Canadian Press Published: Mar 20th, 2023
The number of air passenger complaints to Canada’s transport regulator is soaring, more than tripling to 42,000 over the past year.
The growing backlog means each case now needs more than a year and a half to handle, spurring advocates and politicians to question the entire process.
NDP transport critic Taylor Bachrach plans to table a private member’s bill today that aims to close loopholes, increase fines and make compensation automatic for travellers whose flights are delayed or cancelled.
Bachrach and John Lawford, who heads the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said the passenger rights overhaul promised by the federal government for this spring needs to make compensation automatic in the event of significant delays or short-notice cancellations.
Last week, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra pledged $76 million over three years to chip away at the backlog by hiring 200 more employees,
He also vowed to end a loophole that lets airlines reject compensation claims by citing safety as the reason for a flight disruption.
The complaint backlog shot up after travel chaos erupted over the summer and during the winter holidays as flight demand surged and weather refused to co-operate.
Patricia is the Business Mentor and owner of Grow Vantage and a Past President of the Barrie Chamber of Commerce. She applies over 30 years of business experience (from start-up to corporate) to mentor entrepreneurs. Since 2011, she has held over 6,500 coaching and training sessions in-person and online. Through Ask For Directions Training, her entrepreneurial training program (and parent company Grow Vantage), and as a business coach, she works with start-ups who are new (or who have lost traction) to design, launch and grow their businesses. Along with 20 other expert instructors she teaches strategies in marketing, sales, communications, and finance, as well as practical techniques to increase productivity, and manage their businesses. In other words, everything entrepreneurs need to learn to grow and run their businesses successfully, and avoid the costly mistakes they can't even see coming - that lead to delays in growth and getting stuck.
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