The National Post reports in its Tuesday edition that the backlog of air passenger complaints at Canada's transport regulator has hit a new high of more than 57,000. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post says that the numbers show dissatisfaction over cancellation and compensation persist 3-1/2 years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The numbers reveal that an average of more than 3,000 complaints per month have piled up at the Canadian Transportation Agency over the past year, with the current tally well over three times the total from September, 2022. Vancouver residents Chad Kerychuk and Melissa Oei say they are mulling a complaint after they arrived in Halifax six hours later than planned on a flight from Vancouver in August, 2021, and found themselves separated despite paying for pricier tickets to select their spots in advance. The pair say WestJet Airlines has rejected their request for a partial refund, and the airline informed them the disruption was caused by unplanned maintenance -- an exclusion from compensation rules that will soon be unavailable to carriers.