Air travel complaints down for August: DOT
- Airlines canceled 1.5% of domestic flights; down from 2.5% in July 2023
- Mishandled wheelchairs and bumping complaints increased in August 2023
- UN: Air travel set to soar to pre-pandemic levels in 2023
Travelers wait to go through security check point at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that this will be the third busiest holiday weekend of the year so far, behind only the Juneteenth weekend, which included Father’s Day, and the Presidents Day break.(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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(NewsNation) — The federal government saw a decline in complaints from airline passengers in August, the last full month of summer which is typically marked by flight cancellations and delays.
In newly released data, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) revealed carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 77.2%, up from 69.6% in July 2023 and 75.6% in August 2022. The year-to-date on-time arrival rate for 2023 is 75.7%.
Additionally, airline carriers canceled 1.5% of their scheduled domestic flights — down from 2.5% in July 2023 and 2.5% in August 2022. The year-to-date cancellation rate for 2023 is 1.7%.
The decline comes as global air travel increased by approximately 47% in 2022 compared to the previous year, with the United Nations predicting that flights would return to, or surpass, pre-pandemic levels by 2023.
The DOT said it continues to receive a high volume of air travel service complaints against airlines and ticket agents and its Office of Aviation Consumer Protection is processing them. However, the report revealed complaints declined in August 2023 for incidents involving tarmac delays, mishandled baggage and animal incidents.
Airlines reported 18 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights in August 2023 compared to 63 reported in July 2023. Additionally, airlines reported one tarmac delay of more than four hours on international flights, compared to three delays reported in July 2023.
Carriers handled 4.14 million bags and posted a mishandled baggage rate of 0.61%, down from 0.75% in July 2023, and lower than the 0.64% rate in August 2022.
There were zero incidents involving the death, injury, or loss of an animal while traveling by air in August 2023; one report was filed in July 2023.
In August 2023, carriers reported checking 72,825 wheelchairs and scooters, 1,104 were mishandled for a rate of 1.52%, up from 1.39% mishandled in July 2023 and 1.43% in August 2022.
Unlike air carrier data, bumping/oversales data are reported quarterly instead of monthly. The data revealed that for the first quarter of 2023, 10 U.S. carriers posted an involuntary denied boarding, or bumping, rate of 0.36 per 10,000 passengers — up from 0.29 in the first quarter of 2023 and equal to the 0.36 rate in the second quarter of 2022.
There are several ways customers can file air travel consumer or civil rights complaints. Consumers can fill out the form online, leave a voicemail at (202) 366-2220, or mail a complaint to the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.