The number of flights U.S. carriers operated in March increased 5.4 percent year over year, according to the latest U.S. Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report.
The more than 657,000 flights operated by U.S. carriers in March also was up from the more than 551,000 operated in February 2025, according to DOT.
Cancellations in March also slightly increased for the period, at a rate of 1.1 percent compared with 0.9 percent in March 2024, but was lower than the 1.5 percent reported in February 2025.
For the first quarter, the largest U.S. carriers operated nearly 1.8 million flights, up 3.2 percent year over year. The cancellation rate for Q1 2025 was 1.9 percent compared with 1.7 percent a year prior.
The carriers in March 2025 with the lowest rates of canceled flights include Allegiant Air (0.6 percent), Delta Air Lines network (0.6 percent) and Alaska Airlines network (0.8 percent). Networks include branded codeshare partners.
Carriers in March with the highest rates of canceled flights include American Airlines network (2.1 percent), Frontier Airlines (2 percent) and Hawaiian Airlines (1.7 percent).
U.S. airlines in March handled more than 42 million bags and reported a mishandled baggage rate of 0.48 percent, which was lower than the 0.52 percent reported in March 2024 and the 0.53 reported in February 2025.
DOT in March received nearly 5,600 submissions—complaints, inquiries and opinions—which was up from the 5,350 submissions received a year prior. That figure also exceeded the 5,150 submissions reported in February 2025. U.S. airlines accounted for nearly 72 percent of the submissions, with foreign airlines at 25 percent and travel agencies just below 2 percent. Submissions regarding the 10 largest reporting U.S. carriers and their branded networks increased 5.4 percent year over year to about 3,840.
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