US reports lowest flight cancellation rate in 10 years

As the United States emerges from another Independence Day holiday, the country’s aviation sector is finally welcoming some good news, with the latest figures from the Department of Transportation (DOT) showing that flight cancellations in the United States fell to a 10-year low in 2023.

In 2023, more than 16.3 million flights took place in the United States with a cancellation rate of less than 1.2%, the lowest level since at least 2013, according to the DOT. The cancellations that did occur were most likely due to weather, the analysis found.

Peak periods saw fewer cancellations

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hailed the development as a victory for “realistic planning” in the face of record passenger numbers. “We put pressure on the airlines,” he told CNBC. His view is borne out by the fact that the cancellation rate during the busiest holiday periods was even better than the new average of 1.2%.

In recent years, the US holiday season has seen nightmare scenarios at the country’s airports, including a historic storm and a catastrophic response from Southwest Airlines that stranded 2 million passengers who are now owed record compensation. That year (2022), the cancellation rate was 8.2% for the season. During the 2023-2024 Christmas and New Year period, by contrast, the cancellation rate fell to just 0.8%, a tenth of the previous year’s rate.

The trade association Airlines for America attributed the results to actions taken by its members, including American, Delta, United and Southwest Airlines, which have invested on a variety of fronts, from hiring to implementing new systems. “This is a direct result of the focused and dedicated work our carriers have been doing for more than a year, including aggressive hiring, adjusting schedules and investing in new technology,” the organization said.

The next step is to tackle the delays

With cancellation rates at their lowest in a decade, Buttiegeg is now targeting delay rates. U.S. airlines had an on-time arrival rate of 83.7% in December and a completion rate of 99.6%, according to Airlines for America. The Biden administration wants to improve that rate and is preparing to mandate how much compensation carriers are required to pay if they are responsible for disrupting passenger travel.

The bipartisan Biden-Harris infrastructure bill would invest $25 billion over five years in U.S. airport infrastructure, improving runways and air traffic control towers, adding gates and flight capacity, modernizing baggage systems, replacing passenger boarding bridges, reconfiguring security screening areas, and improving security. Nearly 200 terminal projects are already under construction.