Travelers or almost-travelers were really unhappy with airlines last year.
In fact, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) received 102,550 complaints about airlines and travel agencies from January 2020 to December 2020, according to the department’s most recent Air Travel Consumer Report, released Thursday.
The DOT said the number of complaints is the highest number on record and up 568.4% from the number of complaints it received in 2019, which was just 15,342, according to a press release from the department.
Of those 102,550 complaints, most were about refunds.
According to the report, there were 89,518 complaints about refunds, which makes up 87.29% of all of last year’s complaints.
When travelers have issues with an airline, they usually pick up the phone or turn to Twitter or Facebook for help.
Lodging a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation takes a few more steps and is often seen as a last resort.
That last resort was popular in 2020, with travelers struggling to get refunds during the coronavirus pandemic filing complaints in unprecedented numbers, according to figures released Thursday in the agency s Air Travel Consumer Report.
The DOT logged 102,550 complaints against airlines, travel agencies and tour operators last year, compared with 15,342 in 2019. That s an increase of more than 500%.
When travelers have issues with an airline, they usually pick up the phone or turn to Twitter or Facebook for help.
Lodging a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation takes a few more steps and is often seen as a last resort.
That last resort was popular in 2020, with travelers struggling to get refunds during the coronavirus pandemic filing complaints in unprecedented numbers, according to figures released Thursday in the agency s Air Travel Consumer Report.
The DOT logged 102,550 complaints against airlines, travel agencies and tour operators last year, compared with 15,342 in 2019. That s an increase of more than 500%.