EN | 1.5 min
It can be challenging for an independent agency like the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to manage public perception of performance in the face of realities such as a persistent backlog.
The CTA has reported significant increases in air passenger complaint volumes, resulting in a backlog of 84,398 complaints waiting to be processed as of March 31, 2025, although more recent reports indicate that the backlog stands at around 92,500 complaints as of February 2026.
This is despite the launch of new processes and functions like the Air Travel Complaints Resolution Office (ATCRO) in Fall 2023. In addition, while a new modern and responsive website may help with streamlining and managing new complaints, this is unlikely to have any impact on the backlog of existing complaints. While improvements to internal processes may result in fewer complaints being added to the backlog, or prevent a future backlog, more will be needed to eliminate an existing backlog.
The reality is that backlogs can continue to grow embarrassingly in the background despite an organization’s best efforts; they can become part of agency cullture, accepted by staff as “just the way it is”. This happens because complaint volumes continue to rise (a common trend seen by bodies that manage complaints across sectors since 2020), and we gravitate toward the new and urgent complaints over the complaint buried in the middle of thousands of others.
Complaint backlogs require disruption, fairness, and a team effort. CTA has taken an important first step by acknowledging they have a backlog problem.
The question is, do they have the right mindset, tools, and strategic orientation to do what is needed to eliminate the backlog?