A federal backlog of air passenger complaints over poor service is now up to a record 46,000, the Canadian Transportation Agency said yesterday. It is the equivalent of a three-year wait according to Agency figures.

“Unfortunately we have quite a big backlog,” France Pégeot, CEO of Agency, testified at the Senate transport committee. “We have 46,000 complaints in our backlog. Just last year we received 40,000 complaints.”

“Just to give you a point of comparison, five years ago we had 5,000 complaints,” said Pégeot. The Agency last November 28 told the Commons transport committee it processed complaints at the rate of 15,000 a year.

Cabinet’s omnibus budget bill C-47 includes amendments to Air Passenger Protection Regulations. Pégeot said changes under the Canada Transportation Act would not help passengers who already filed complaints.