DOT September Air Cancellations Again Decline

Cancellations in September from U.S. reporting air carriers declined for a second month in a row, according to the latest U.S. Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report. Airlines canceled 1.2 percent of their scheduled flights, down from the 1.5 percent rate from a year prior and from August 2023’s 1.5 percent.

Operated flights in September were up 4.5 percent year over year to more than 597,000 but were down 5.3 percent compared with August 2023. 

The carriers with the lowest rates of canceled flights were Alaska Airlines Network (0.3 percent), Allegiant Air (0.3 percent) and Southwest Airlines (0.6 percent). Those carriers with the highest rate of cancellations included JetBlue (3.4 percent), Frontier Airlines (2 percent) and Spirit Airlines (1.6 percent). Networks include branded codeshare partners.

Airlines in September handled 37.4 million bags and reported a mishandled baggage rate of 0.53 percent, lower than the 0.61 percent in August 2023, but higher than the rate of 0.48 percent from September 2022. 

DOT’s September complaint data was delayed, as has been the case each month for all of 2023. Earlier in November, the department released complaint data for March, April and May, which showed that complaints had surged for those months. DOT on Sept. 29 received an $8 million grant to use for updating its complaint application system. The agency anticipates the new system will be operational in January 2024.

RELATED: August Flight Operations Up, Cancellations Down