Story at a glance
- There were thousands of flights cancelled around the holidays last year, stranding passengers.
- Nationally, 2023 saw the lowest cancellation rates in five years and less than 1% of flights were canceled over the Thanksgiving holiday, despite record travel.
- Airlines have made some changes since last year to improve their systems.
(NewsNation) — Travelers plagued by last year’s mass flight cancellations may have better luck this holiday season as cancellation rates continue to fall, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
Nationally, 2023 saw the lowest cancellation rates in five years and less than 1% of flights were canceled over the Thanksgiving holiday, despite record travel, a DOT spokesperson said an in email to NewsNation.
That could be good news for travelers whose plans were upended last year when thousands of Southwest Airlines travelers experienced canceled flights over the Christmas holiday. Many complained of short notice, days-long delays and lost luggage.
The Office of Aviation Consumer Protection is currently investigating several domestic airlines for unrealistic scheduling of flights, according to the DOT.
Since last year’s meltdown, Southwest Airlines says it’s reinforced airport infrastructure, increased staff at airports where extreme cold requires rotating employees working outside and reprioritized upgrades to technology that helps them recover more quickly during extreme weather.
On a larger scale, airlines nationwide are preparing for the holiday rush on the heels of record-setting Thanksgiving travel. The busiest travel days in December are expected to take place on the 20th, 27th and 30th, based on TSA checkpoint data.
In the event of a cancellation, the 10 largest airlines now guarantee meals and free rebooking on the same airline, a DOT spokesperson said. Nine airlines also guarantee hotel accommodations when the airline is responsible for the cancellation or delay.
Although flight cancellations improved, the Transportation Department did receive an influx of service complaints, up 88.4% from the 13,252 filed during the first quarter of 2022.
Disability and discrimination-related complaints were among the issues travelers raised with the DOT.
The department received 636 disability-related complaints for the first quarter of 2023, compared to the 380 filed during the first quarter of 2022, according to a November 8 consumer report. It also received 54 discrimination complaints for the first quarter of this year, up from 27 filed during the same time last year.
Discrimination concerns included 24 complaints regarding race, one complaint regarding “ancestry or ethnicity,” 16 complaints regarding national origin, five complaints regarding “color,” three complaints regarding religion, and five complaints regarding sexual discrimination, according to the consumer report.
In response, the department said it’s exploring ways to make airplane bathrooms more accessible, strengthen training requirements for airline employees who provide hands-on assistance to passengers who need mobility aid, and potentially introduce a rule that would allow passengers to stay in their own wheelchairs when they fly, according to the department’s website.
The Federal Technology Modernization Fund additionally awarded the DOT an $8 million grant in September to update the system that tracks consumer complaints and cases. Those upgrades will allow the department’s consumer protection office to leverage better “oversight of the airline industry,” the DOT spokesperson said.
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