Canada’s federal government in Ottawa is spending $75.9 million of taxpayer money to clear a massive backlog of more than 40,000 complaints related to air travel throughout the country.
The compliant backlog has worsened following a series of flight delays and cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Transportation in Ottawa announced that it is allocating $75 million over the next three years to the Canadian Transportation Agency to help it hire additional staff that are needed to manage travel complaints and related compensation.
The Canadian Transportation Agency has said that it is working to resolve 42,000 passenger complaints and needs to hire at least 200 more people to help deal with the growing backlog.
Federal officials said that the additional money will help the Canadian Transportation Agency enforce Air Passenger Protection Regulations that cover situations that are outside of an airline’s control such as a major weather event or the pandemic.
An international report issued last July by global tracking service FlightAware found that Canadian airlines and airports have the most flight delays and cancellations in the world.
