The U.S. Department of Transportation received 10,822 air complaints in January, a 112 percent increase year over year but down 36 percent from December 2022 levels, the agency reported Wednesday.
Almost a quarter (more than 23 percent) of the January complaints were against Southwest Airlines as it continued to deal with the disruptions that occurred over the December holidays, according to the agency. About 72 percent of the complaints were against U.S. carriers, 24 percent were against foreign air carriers, and 4 percent were against travel companies.
Flight problems received the highest number of complaints in January at 38 percent. These included issues such as cancellations, delays or other deviations from airlines’ schedules. About 38 percent of those complaints were against Southwest.
Refunds was the second-highest category of complaints for January, at nearly 21 percent. Baggage issues received 18 percent of the complaints.
The first part of the January Air Travel Consumer Report was released on March 28, but the complaints section was delayed due to the high volume of complaints received. DOT also delayed this section for its December and February reports for the same reason.
