Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said that Canadians are dissatisfied and “upset and in a bad mood” with air travel.. Omar AlghabraOmar Alghabra .During his testimony at the Senate Transport committee, Alghabra stated that consumers are fed up with the poor service they have been receiving..“People are tired, exhausted and losing faith in institutions,” testified Alghabra..“I take that mood extremely seriously.”.Alghabra made these comments in response to the concerns raised by senators regarding the slow compensation and poor service experienced by airline passengers, according to Blacklock’s Reporter..The Canadian Transportation Agency, responsible for resolving service-related issues, revealed on Wednesday that it has a backlog of 46,000 complaints over three years..“The mood is low,” said Sen. Bernadette Clement (ON). .“Canadians love to travel. They have to travel for family reasons or work reasons. They feel they are travelling in a system that doesn’t have enough competition.”.“Canadians feel embattled around a lot of these issues, including air travel,” said Clement..“The mood is low. The people I talk to haven’t bothered with seeking compensation or doing anything because they don’t believe the system is there for them.” .Data from the federal government shows that only one out of every 5,000 Canadians eligible for compensation due to poor service file a claim..According to Sen. Leo Housakos (QC), who serves as the Transport committee chair, describing the current mood as “low” would be an understatement..“When Sen. Clement said the mood is low, I think that was polite,” said Housakos..“Canadians are pissed.”.“They’re pissed because our airports particularly have been a mess,” said Housakos..“There are 46,000 complaints in the queue, Minister. The list is growing and that’s just the people who have filed.”.“You’re right, Canadians are upset and in a bad mood,” replied Alghabra..“But some political leaders are trying to take advantage of this mood to blame everything on government when they themselves know that is not the case.”.In 2019, the Parliament introduced the Air Passenger Protection Regulations, which guaranteed compensation of $400 for a three-hour flight delay, $900 for being denied boarding due to overbooking, up to $2,100 for lost or damaged luggage, and a maximum of $25,000 in damages..However, the highest penalty has never been applied to any complaint..“We are proposing a new service standard,” said Alghabra..“The service standard will not only uphold the rules, but it will ensure that airlines have a minimum treatment of their customers.”.“In terms of service standards, how will you define those?” asked Sen. Andrew Cardozo (ON). .“The service standard is for a passenger when they are waiting for a plane, what kind of service they should be receiving: food, water, access to telecommunications,” replied Alghabra..“Do you have to balance passenger rights with business interests?” asked Cardozo..“We’re not asking airlines to do more than what they promise their customers,” replied Alghabra..“If an airline sells a ticket to a customer on such and such a date we will fly, we expect them to deliver.”.The omnibus budget bill C-47 includes amendments to the Canada Transportation Act, which requires airlines to resolve complaints within 30 days and disclose their performance data on their websites..These proposed changes are in response to the Commons Transport committee report Air Passenger Protection Regulations published on April 18, which criticized the existing regulations as ineffective and poorly enforced.
