Airline hasn't paid your compensation? The 30-day rule and what to do next
Updated · Checked against the regulations as current to September 30, 2026 · By LandedLate
Under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations, the airline has 30 days from receiving your claim to pay you or explain why it won't (section 19(4)). On a plain reading of that section, an email saying your claim is approved or under review is neither. From day 31 you can file a free complaint with the Canadian Transportation Agency, because your original claim already counts as writing to the airline; a reminder to the airline first is optional. The agency has fined an airline for missing the 30 days.
Whether your own flight qualifies depends on its details: the reason the airline gave, how late you reached your destination and how much notice you had. Check it free at landedlate.ca/check.
Where your claim stands, and what to do
| What happened | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No answer after 30 days | The airline missed its deadline (section 19(4)) | Write once, then file with the agency |
| “Approved”, but no money after 30 days | Approval isn't payment; the deadline is for the compensation itself | Ask for payment, quoting the approval and your claim date |
| “Still under review” after 30 days | The regulations don't provide for extending the 30 days | Same as no answer |
| Refused with a vague reason | The explanation must give you enough to decide whether to challenge it (CTA 122-C-A-2021) | Answer the refusal |
| A refund not paid after 30 days | Refunds are due within 30 days (section 18.2) | Ask for it, then file with the agency |
| Paid in a voucher you didn't agree to | Compensation is owed in money unless you accepted something worth more, in writing (section 21) | Ask for the cash amount |
If you want to remind the airline first
- Reply in the same channel you claimed through, quoting your claim or case number and the date you sent it.
- Say what's missing: no answer, or an approval without payment, more than 30 days after the airline received your claim (section 19(4)).
- Ask for the payment, or for the cause and the evidence if the airline means to refuse.
- Say you'll file with the Canadian Transportation Agency if you don't hear back soon, and keep a copy of everything. You don't have to wait for its answer to file.
Free. LandedLate takes no share of what the airline pays you.
The regulator has fined an airline for missing the 30 days
| Issued | What for | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| March 10, 2026 | Porter: 4 violations of the 30-day rule (section 19(4)) between May 2 and 5, 2025, part of a penalty that also covered a tarmac delay at Fort Lauderdale | $90,500 in total |
| July 26, 2024 | Porter: 10 violations of the 30-day rule, August 21 to November 30, 2023 | $2,000 |
Canadian Transportation Agency enforcement notices; links in Sources.
What the airlines say about timing
- WestJet and Flair say you can expect a response within 30 days, with approved payments sent to the email address on the claim. WestJet · Flair
- Air Transat says it responds within a maximum of 30 days of receiving the claim, and you can follow a claim on its claim status page. Air Transat
Filing with the Canadian Transportation Agency
The complaint is free and online. You can file once you've written to the airline and either received its answer or waited 30 days. Expect a long wait: the agency says it may take more than 24 months before an officer reviews a complaint, and about 98,000 complaints were waiting, as reported on September 24, 2026 (The Canadian Press). How to file, step by step
Questions
The airline emailed that my claim is approved, but no money has arrived. Is that allowed?
Not past 30 days. The regulations require the airline, within 30 days after it receives your claim, to "provide the compensation or an explanation as to why compensation is not payable" (section 19(4)). An approval notice is neither. Write back with the date you claimed and ask for the payment.
The airline never answered. Can I go to the Canadian Transportation Agency?
Yes. You can file a free complaint once you've written to the airline and either received its answer or waited 30 days. Your original claim counts as writing to the airline.
The airline says it's still reviewing my claim. Does that pause the 30 days?
The regulations don't provide for a pause: the 30 days run from the day the airline receives your claim (section 19(4)). That is our reading of the text; we haven't found an agency decision on review emails specifically.
The airline paid me in a voucher instead of money. Is that payment?
Only if you agreed to it in writing, and it must be worth more than the cash amount and never expire (section 21). Otherwise you're entitled to money.
How long do I have to claim in the first place?
For a delay or a cancellation, the claim must reach the airline before the first anniversary of the day it happened (section 19(3)). If you were bumped from a flight for a reason within the airline's control, it had to pay within 48 hours (section 20).
Sources
- Air Passenger Protection Regulations, SOR/2019-150, sections 19, 20 and 21 (Justice Laws)
- CTA Decision 122-C-A-2021: a refusal must give enough information to decide whether to challenge it
- Canadian Transportation Agency: Porter Airlines penalized for APPR violations (March 2026)
- Canadian Transportation Agency: enforcement action, Porter Airlines (July 2024)
- WestJet: compensation claims
- Flair: compensation for flight delay or cancellation
- Air Transat: flight disruption, delay and cancellation
- Canadian Transportation Agency: complaints portal (wait may exceed 24 months)
- The Canadian Press via BNN Bloomberg (September 24, 2026): backlog of about 98,000 complaints
General information, not legal advice.