Complaints to US authorities from travellers are the best for the reason that COVID pandemic when airways had been sluggish to refund.
Air journey received extra depressing final yr, if the variety of shopper complaints filed with the USA authorities is any measure.
The Division of Transportation mentioned Friday that it obtained almost 97,000 complaints in 2023, up from about 86,000 the yr earlier than. The division mentioned there have been so many complaints that it took till July to type by way of the filings and compile the figures.
That’s the best variety of shopper complaints about airways since 2020, when airways had been sluggish to provide clients refunds after the coronavirus pandemic shut down air journey.
The rise in complaints got here at the same time as airways cancelled far fewer US flights — 116,700, or 1.2 % of the entire, final yr, in contrast with about 210,500, or 2.3 %, in 2022, in response to FlightAware information. Nonetheless, delays remained stubbornly excessive final yr, at about 21 % of all flights.
Greater than two-thirds of all complaints final yr handled US airways, however 1 / 4 lined overseas airways. A lot of the relaxation had been about journey brokers and tour operators.
Complaints about treating passengers with disabilities rose by greater than one-fourth in contrast with 2022. Complaints of discrimination, whereas small in quantity, additionally rose sharply. Most had been about race or nationwide origin.
Airways obtain many extra complaints from travellers who have no idea how or don’t hassle to complain to the federal government, however the carriers don’t launch these numbers.
The Transportation Division is modernising its complaint-taking system, which the company says will assist it do a greater job overseeing the airline trade. Nonetheless, the division at present releases criticism numbers many months late. It didn’t situation figures for the second half of 2023 till Friday.