DOT ISSUES JANUARY 2023 AIRLINE COMPLAINT DATA REPORT
June 16, 2023
On May 17, 2023, DOT published its updated March 2023 Air Travel Consumer Report, which now includes airline consumer complaint data from January 2023. A summary of some of the important points included in the report is included below.
Complaints About Airline Service:
In January 2023, DOT received a total of 10,822 airline service complaints, down 35.9% from December 2022, but up 111.7% from the 5,113 complaints received in January 2022. DOT noted that almost a quarter of these complaints (23.4%) were made against Southwest Airlines and related to its 2022 holiday season meltdown. DOT also noted that of the total number of complaints, 7,754 complaints, or 71.7% were against U.S. carriers, while 2,596, or 24% were against foreign carriers, and 469, or 4.3% were against travel companies. The highest number of complaints were related to flight problems like cancellations, delays, and other deviations from airline schedules (4,054, or 37.5%), followed by refunds (2,240, or 20.7%) and baggage issues (1,973, or 18.2%).
Complaints About the Treatment of Passengers with Disabilities
DOT received a total of 222 disability-related complaints in January 2023, up slightly from the 218 disability-related complaints received in December 2022, and the 144 complaints received in January 2022.
Complaints About Discrimination
DOT received a total of 26 discrimination complaints in January 2023, up from the 10 complaints it received on this topic in December 2022 and the 5 complaints it received in January 2022. 11 of these complaints were related to race, 1 complaint was related to ancestry/ethnicity, 8 complaints were related to national origin, 2 complaints were related to color, 3 complaints were related to religion, and 1 complaint was related to sexual discrimination.
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