I’ve started a formal complaint against an airline through the Canadian Transportation Agency. What happens next?

Be prepared to wait! There are thousands of complaints before the Canadian Transportation Agency at any one time, and the adjudicators go through them in the order they were received. Best to just forget about it for a while until the agency contacts you.

When they do (which can be 18-24 months from the time of your complaint), the agency will email, asking you to register for their online service. This marks the official start of the complaint resolution process.

The steps in the complaint process

Once you’re registered, you’ll see the airline’s answer to your complaint. The airline has 14 days to do this from the time the process starts. Expect their answer to be longer than your initial complaint — the airline will likely cite previous legal cases to help shore up their arguments.

You’ll then have a short window (just four days) to reply to the airline’s answer. Replying is optional. You can refute their assertions, add further evidence to bolster yours (like receipts that show your out-of-pocket expenses), or do nothing. You’ll see a copy of your original complaint, so it’s up to you whether to supplement it.  

The agency will then review the complaint to see if it meets their eligibility criteria. For example, it has to be about something they can address, such as a flight delay (as compared to, for example, airline customer service, which they can’t address). 

If your complaint is eligible, the agency will give you and the airline the option to mediate. Both parties have to agree to mediate, otherwise the agency will just decide. If your complaint is relatively small, don’t expect the airline to want to mediate. They get many complaints, and it isn’t worth it for them to mediate each one.

Final decision

The agency will then make a decision on your complaint. If the airline has to compensate you, they will have about a month to do so (the order will spell out the time frame). The airline will then typically reach out to you by email to confirm your banking or physical address so they can either send you an e-transfer or a cheque.

This complaint process is still relatively new. And there is a very high volume of complaints. So it takes time for the agency to deal with them. Regardless of the outcome, good on you for making a formal complaint and trying to hold the airline accountable 👏🏽