US: Airline reliability, refunds: DOT data shows the biggest gripes for flyers in June

The Department of Transportation released the latest data on passenger complaints against airlines on Friday, and the numbers are pretty clear: travelers were most frustrated in the month of June with delays and cancellations. DOT received almost 35% more complaints overall in June than it did in the previous month – about 270% more grumbling than what was normal before the pandemic. More than a quarter of the 5,862 complaints the department received in June were related to flight delays, cancellations or other schedule deviations. "DOT remains committed to ensuring airline passengers are treated fairly and is concerned about recent flight cancellations and flight disruptions," The department said in a statement. "The Department’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) is monitoring airlines’ operations to ensure that airlines are not engaging in unrealistic scheduling of flights and are complying with aviation consumer protection requirements." The high volume of reliability-related complaints reflected the fact that airlines operated fewer flights in June than May, with more than 3% of domestic flights canceled according to the June report. American, Delta and United had the most cancellations in June, cutting 4.4%, 3.9% and 3.5% of their schedules, including flights operated by their regional affiliates. Hawaiian, Alaska and Frontier had the fewest cancellations at 0.1%, 0.7% and 1.1% of their schedules. Alaska Airlines was also the most on-time carrier in June, with nearly 80% of its flights arriving on schedule. Allegiant Air, meanwhile, had the most delays. Almost 40% of its flights were late in June.<br/>