DOT Releases August Air Travel Consumer Report: More Than 1.05 Million Bags Mishandled in First Half of 2026
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on October 19 released its latest Air Travel Consumer Report, the August 2026 edition, covering flight delays, cancellations, mishandled baggage, mishandled wheelchairs and scooters, oversales and consumer complaints, with data mainly for January through June 2026 for U.S. reporting carriers.
The report is produced by DOT's Office of Aviation Consumer Protection, with delay and baggage data collected by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. On baggage, U.S. airlines mishandled 1,052,492 checked bags in the first half of 2026, a rate of 0.49 per 100 bags, down from 0.52 in the same period of 2025. Mishandled bags include those lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered.
By carrier, American Airlines posted the highest mishandled-baggage rate at 0.73 per 100 bags, followed by its regional affiliate Envoy Air at 0.72 and United Airlines at 0.66. Allegiant Air was lowest at 0.12, with JetBlue at 0.31 and Southwest Airlines at 0.32. On cancellations, marketing carriers cancelled 85,998 flights in the period, or 2.23% of 3,856,905 scheduled operations, up from 1.57% a year earlier.
The report also tracked mishandled wheelchairs and scooters: Frontier Airlines had the highest rate at 1.51 per 100 enplaned, followed by JetBlue at 1.36, while Delta Air Lines, Allegiant Air and Republic Airways were among the lowest. DOT said the report is designed to help consumers assess airline service quality, and the full report is posted on the department's website.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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