Passenger complaints against airlines set to double this year after catastrophic 2022

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday announced a $140-million fine against Southwest Airlines following the company’s disastrous 2022 travel season that was highlighted by thousands of canceled flights and millions of frustrated fliers.

The fine, assessed for “numerous violations of consumer protection laws,” was “30 times larger than any previous DOT penalty for consumer protection violations,” according to a DOT statement.

Southwest canceled nearly 17,000 flights and stranded more than 2 million passengers during last year’s Christmas and New Year’s holidays, according to DOT.

During the travel crisis, “Southwest confronted unprecedented operational, volume-related challenges yet acted with diligence and in good faith,” the airline said in a statement Monday.

Southwest has put in place “significant investments and initiatives that accelerate operational resiliency, enhance cross-team collaboration and bolster overall preparedness for winter operations,” President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Jordan said.

Though it’s hard to imagine a worse outcome for air travelers than last year’s debacle, newly released data show that passenger complaints filed with the DOT across all airlines more than doubled in the first five months of 2023 from the same period in 2022.

The data, analyzed by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, showed a 109% year-over-year increase in complaints against airlines from January through May. The number of air travelers increased 14% in the span.

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More than a third of the complaints addressed flight scheduling, including cancellations, delays and issues with connections, the data showed. About a fifth of the complaints related to problems with refunds.

The third most common complaint was lost or damaged items. These were similar in proportion to complaints from 2022, PIRG noted, but the volume of complaints increased dramatically.

A separate document, the DOT’s Air Travel Consumer Report, notes that the number of mishandled bags jumped in September 2023 to 198,256, with a rate of .53 bags mishandled for every 100 passengers flying. This is up from 177,304 bags and a rate of .48 bags for every 100 passengers in September 2022, according to the most recent DOT data.

The agency will have to adjust, as “consumer complaints are not returning to pre-pandemic levels,” the report states.

Complaints in 2020 reached the highest levels ever recorded, but 2023’s total will be significantly higher if the trend from January through May continues.

With the Christmas travel season ramping up, fines like those imposed on Southwest Airlines could give travelers some comfort.

“If airlines fail their passengers, we will use the full extent of our authority to hold them accountable,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.