Complaints Against Airlines Surge After United's Passenger-Dragging Incident In April

A report by the Department of Transportation (DOT) Wednesday said complaints against U.S. airlines surged by 70 percent in April, the same month when video footage of a passenger being forcibly removed from a United Airlines plane April 9 went viral.

"In April, DOT received 1,909 complaints about airline service from consumers, up 70.0 percent from the total of 1,123 filed in April 2016 and up 68.6 percent from the 1,132 received in March 2017," the report said.

The June 2017, Air Travel Consumer Report also said the reporting carriers canceled 1.6 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in April as compared to the 0.9 percent cancelation rate in April 2016. However, the April 2017 figures were down from the 1.8 percent rate recorded in March 2017.

“In April, the Department received 12 complaints alleging discrimination – nine complaints regarding race, one complaint regarding ancestry/ethnicity, one complaint regarding color, and one complaint regarding sex. This is an increase from the total of four recorded in both April 2016 and March 2017,” the report read. According to the department, a total of 66 disability-related complaints were received in April, up from both the 52 complaints received in April 2016 and the 56 complaints received in March 2017

Read: Dying Passenger’s Partially Naked Body Dragged From American Airlines Flight

The spike in complaints was followed by the public reaction to the United Airlines passenger-dragging incident highlighting the ill-treatment of the customers by the airlines in the country.

On April 9, David Dao, who was dragged from his seat on a flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky by airport officers, suffered a broken nose, a concussion and lost two teeth. United Airlines' and Dao's attorneys reached a settlement over the incident, but neither of them disclosed the terms, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Paul Hudson, founder of the passenger rights group Flyersrights.org, according to a report, said the Dao incident may have given the passengers the confidence to speak up about how airlines are treating them. “A lot of people have realized that things are bad and that they can complain about it," said Hudson, whose group has more than 60,000 members.

Read: Did United Airlines Flow A Plane In Unsafe Condition 23 Times?

After the April 9 incident, United Airlines announced substantial changes to serve its customers better. In a press statement, it assured it would not ask its customers seated on the plane to give up their seat involuntarily unless safety or security is at risk. The airlines also said it would ensure crews are booked onto a flight at least 60 minutes prior to departure. The airlines also said it would "empower [its] employees to resolve customer service issues in the moment."

Apart from the United Airlines fiasco, many such incidents were reported in the same month involving arguments between passengers and flight crew. In a similar episode, a three-minute clip went viral showing a woman crying and asking for the pushchair of her baby after an argument with a crew member of American Airlines on April 21. Another passenger came to the woman's defense and threatened to punch the flight attendant, who in turn challenged the passenger to hit him.

Leslie Scott, an American Airlines spokeswoman, said the incident was sparked by a dispute over whether the woman could bring the pushchair into the cabin or not, the Guardian reported.