Judging by the number of consumer complaints filed with the U.S. government, air travel got even more disastrous last year.
The Department of Transportation said Friday that it received nearly 97,000 complaints in 2023, up from about 86,000 the previous year.
The department said it received so many complaints that it took until July to sort through the submissions and compile the figures.
This marks the highest number of consumer complaints against airlines since 2020, when airlines were reluctant to offer refunds to customers after the COVID-19 pandemic halted air travel.
The complaints increased even as airlines canceled a much smaller number of U.S. flights in 2022, about 210,500 flights, or 2.3%, compared with 116,700 flights, or 1.2% of the total, last year, according to FlightAware data.
However, delays remained high last year, accounting for around 21% of all flights.
Cancellations have remained relatively low at about 1.3% of all flights so far this year, but delays are still at about 21%.
More than two-thirds of complaints last year were about U.S. airlines, while a quarter were about foreign airlines.
Most of the rest were about travel agencies and tour operators.
Complaints about treatment Passengers with disabilities That’s up by more than a quarter compared to 2022. Discrimination complaints, while fewer in number, also saw a sharp increase.
Mostly About Race Or nationality.
The Department for Transport said the increase in complaints was partly due to more consumers becoming aware of their rights and their ability to make a complaint.
The department said it helped Southwest Airlines customers obtain more than $600 million in refunds and reimbursements after the airline canceled about 17,000 flights in December 2022.
Southwest Airlines also paid a $35 million fine.
Airlines receive many more complaints from travelers who don’t know how to or don’t care to file complaints with the government, but the airlines don’t release those figures.
The Department of Transport is modernising its complaints system, which it says will allow it to better monitor the aviation industry.
But the department currently releases complaint numbers with a delay of several months, and figures for the second half of 2023 weren’t released until Friday.
