Air Canada customers wishing to file complaints with the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) may encounter long wait times. As of August 14, the CTA reported a backlog of approximately 85,000 air travel complaints. This figure was recorded just two days before a strike by flight attendants began.

The backlog has been steadily increasing since the federal government implemented new regulations in 2019. These rules established compensation amounts for flight delays and cancellations, leading to a surge in complaints. In recent years, the CTA has seen a dramatic rise in the number of grievances submitted. Over the past three years, the agency received more than 42,000 complaints annually, a significant increase from about 12,000 in the fiscal year 2021-22.

In an effort to address the growing number of complaints, the CTA introduced a new system in 2023 aimed at enhancing its capacity to manage these issues. Despite this, the volume of complaints continues to rise. In the fiscal year 2024-25, the agency reported closing over 33,600 complaints, which marks a notable increase compared to previous years. However, this progress has not been sufficient to alleviate the expanding backlog of unresolved cases.