After declining year over year for two consecutive months,
the U.S. passenger flight cancellation rate increased in July, as did the
number of consumer complaints, according to the latest U.S. Department of
Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report.
The July cancellation rate was 2.8 percent, up from the 2.6
percent reported a year prior, and up from the 1.7 percent reported in June.
U.S. carriers in July operated about 678,300 flights, up
slightly from the 678,100 operated in July 2025. The figure also was up from
the 660,300 flights operated in June 2026.
Domestic carriers with the lowest July cancellation rates
were Allegiant Air (0.5 percent), Alaska Airlines network (1.1 percent) and
Southwest Airlines (1.1 percent). Networks include branded codeshare partners.
Airlines with the highest July cancellation rates were
JetBlue (9.8 percent), Frontier Airlines (3.4 percent) and Delta Air Lines (3.3
percent).
U.S. carriers in July handled about 43.1 million bags for a
mishandled baggage rate of 0.55 percent, down from the 0.61 percent reported a
year prior, but up from the 0.50 percent reported in June 2026.
The number of complaints filed in July increased to 8,544
from 6,803 reported in June. About 69 percent were for U.S. carriers, 26
percent for foreign carriers and 5 percent for travel agencies. The
subcategories with the most complaints were refunds (2,316), flight schedule
(1,991) and baggage (1,179).
RELATED: DOT:
June U.S. Air Cancellation Rate Again Down