Promised since 2023, when will Canada's new air passenger rights be cleared for takeoff?

Updates to the air passenger bill of rights appear stuck on the tarmac more than two years after the federal government promised changes — something that may come as unwelcome news for Canadian air travellers facing their own delays.

After promising to improve the air passenger protection regulations (APPR) as part of the 2023 budget, the government still hasn't finalized the new changes — and it's not clear when the updated regulations will be cleared for takeoff.

In response to the budget, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) — the independent regulator responsible for enforcing the APPR — proposed a new set of regulations a year ago and wrapped up consultations on those proposals in March.

Before the regulations come into force, the CTA needs to present them to cabinet for approval.

When asked earlier this month, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon didn't say if the updated proposals are still sitting with the agency or have been passed to cabinet — but he did express frustration with how the system is currently operating.

"It is a state of affairs that I'm not happy with and we want to make it better for Canadians," he told reporters during a news conference.

CBC News has asked MacKinnon's office for clarification on whether the regulations are still with the CTA or have landed with cabinet.

The first iteration of the APPR came into force in 2019 and requires airlines to compensate passengers for delays or cancellations that are within their control.

But the CTA has been grappling with a mountain of complaints from passengers who have accused airlines of unfairly denying them compensation. There are 88,000 complaints currently backlogged with the agency.

Gerald Van De Ven of Qualicum Beach, B.C., has been waiting for the CTA to handle his complaint since April 2023.

"There's no way to get answers. I've sent emails and you just get a one-line response: 'You're still in the queue.' It's been really, really frustrating. I've never dealt with anything quite like this," he told CBC News.

"It doesn't give me a lot of faith in the systems that we have in place that they're actually there to help us."

Van De Ven's return flight from a family trip a few years ago was cancelled and rescheduled to the next day. He and his family had to bear the extra costs of another night stay at a hotel and meals for the day.

WestJet denied his compensation claim, even though Van De Ven said the pilot on the make-up flight indicated that the cancellation was "100 per cent the airline's fault." He took the complaint to the CTA and is still waiting for a decision.

"As a consumer, why am I left to hold the airline accountable for their actions? To me, it should just happen and it should definitely happen faster than three years later," Van De Ven said.

More onus on airlines

The updated regulations are meant to make it harder for airlines to deny passengers compensation if there are flight delays or cancellations.

They would require airlines to compensate passengers for flight disruptions unless they can prove "exceptional circumstances" caused the delay or cancellation. Such exceptional circumstances would include a security threat, an unlawful act, an environmental disaster or disruptive passenger behaviour.

Ian Jack, a spokesperson for the Canadian Automobile Association, argued that the government is taking too long to implement the updated regulations.

"It's really too bad for consumers. We've been waiting to get these amendments out to improve things for consumers when it comes to air travel and they've just been stuck in the swamp in Ottawa for far too long now," said Jack, whose association offers travel services including flight bookings.

Get off your ass and do something — we've been waiting long enough- Gerald Van De Ven, Qualicum Beach, B.C.

The CTA has said it is processing complaints at a faster pace since a new complaint resolution process was introduced in the fall of 2023. But the agency says it is still swamped with tens of thousands of new complaints every year.

"[The CTA] has gone from drowning to treading water," Jack said of the backlog. He argued that the update should help "somewhat" with that backlog by just simplifying the system for consumers.

"The original sin on this file really was the government writing an enormously complicated set of regulations — all kinds of grey areas, all kinds of loopholes and exemptions — to the point where the average consumer files a complaint with the carrier, the carrier just says 'Nah,' and then you have to file a complaint with the regulator. That was supposed to be a last resort," he said.

The government earmarked $75.9 million in 2023 to help clear the backlog for the CTA, but that funding is slated to run out in March. CBC News has asked MacKinnon if that money will be topped up, but he didn't say.

About 57 per cent of the cases that do clear the agency's complaints process result in passengers receiving compensation, according to documents tabled in the House of Commons in September. But in some cases, airlines have taken passengers to court to challenge the CTA's rulings.

The National Airlines Council of Canada has raised concerns about the proposed updates, suggesting that they could lead to higher costs for travellers.

"We have urged the federal government to properly evaluate the negative consequences of any proposed changes so that passengers are not faced with higher costs, less choice and a less competitive Canadian air travel system — none of which is in the interests of passengers," president Jeff Morrison said in a statement.

MP Dan Albas, the Conservative transport critic, said the current system "does not work as advertised" and argues that the government should reconsider the whole operation.

"If I were the government, I would seriously consider restarting and perhaps ask to see if the CTA is the right body to do this — but that would first require them to admit there's a problem" he told CBC News.

Albas criticized the Liberals for showing "zero political will" to address the problem and suggested that the government is treating the transport portfolio as a "part-time position."

Prime Minister Mark Carney has had two transport ministers since the Liberals won April's election. Former transport minister Chrystia Freeland had also served as Carney's minister of internal trade. The transport file was then handed to MacKinnon — who is also the Liberal House leader — when Freeland stepped down from cabinet in September.

"I don't think there's the bandwidth within the government or within the minister's own office to be able to handle these cases. So again, Canadians when they travel, when they think that these so-called air passenger bill of rights are actual rights — right now, it's a right to to wait in line," Albas said.

When asked what he would like the government to do about the current backlog, Van De Ven had a blunt request.

"Get off your ass and do something — we've been waiting long enough," he said.