Australian watchdog flags ‘persistently high’ cancellations as recovery stabilises

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has singled out domestic airline service reliability as a “significant concern”, noting that cancellations and delays remain “persistently high” even as traffic recovery stabilises and airfares decline. In its quarterly domestic competition report – the first in more than half a year – the commission found that about 5% of domestic flights were cancelled in December 2023, more than double the long-term average. It also found that less than two-thirds of flights in December arrived on time, far lower than the long-term average of 81.1%. ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says: “The persistently high rates of cancellations and delays compared to long term averages in the second half of last year were clearly disappointing for consumers.” The watchdog found that a lack of air traffic controllers to have contributed to the poor reliability performance. Airservices Australia, a government agency overseeing air traffic management, said a shortage of manpower was responsible for 6% of flight cancellations and 16% ground delays in December 2023. Other factors include supply chain disruptions and a shortage of pilots, the ACCC notes. In its report, the commission found that passenger volume and capacity have largely stabilised after pandemic-driven “fluctuations”. In December 2023, Australian carriers flew about 4.8m domestic passengers, or about 94% that of pre-pandemic 2019. Capacity recovered to around 95% of pre-Covid-19 levels. <br/>