Frontier Airlines posted the highest rate of passenger complaints in 2022 among US carriers, a year that became one of the most disruptive for registered travelers.

The Denver-based company recorded more than 20 complaints for every 100,000 passengers who boarded its planes, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics posted earlier this month. That compares to a national average of about six passenger complaints per 100,000.

A representative for Frontier did not respond to a request for comment.

The combination of a post-pandemic boom in demand for air travel and a reduction in staff as a result of pandemic-induced layoffs and retirements led to a series of delays and cancellations in 2022. The year culminated in the closure of Southwest Airlines to end of december. flight schedule in the midst of a harsh winter storm and system outages.

The total number of passenger complaints skyrocketed between 2021 and 2022, from 49,991 to 77,656, and complaints about US airlines more than doubled in the year, from 20,365 to 47,591.

“Air travel is a disaster right now,” said Teresa Murray of Consumer Watchdog at the non-profit US PIRG Education Fund at a accompanying wording. Murray is also the author of a report on the past year airline clouds.

“Our analysis shows that the ratio of complaints per passenger was more than five times higher in 2022 than it was in 2019,” Murray said.

«Airlines often post unrealistic schedules, cancel flights and delay refunds. Airlines and online ticket agents simply don’t face enough consequences when they abuse customers.»

Seattle-based Horizon Air had the lowest complaint rate, at just 1.09; followed by Utah-based SkyWest Airlines at 1.37 and Phoenix-based Mesa Airlines at 1.74. Among the largest airlines, Delta had the lowest complaint rate at 2.66, while Southwest Airlines had the highest at 6.75.

PIRG found that consumers filed more complaints against US airlines in 2022 than in any year in at least a quarter century. The 77,656 complaints consumers filed in 2022 were the second-highest number after 2020, but that year, most of the 102,550 complaints were against foreign airlines, it found.

The 47,591 complaints consumers filed last year against US airlines exceeded any year since 1997, PIRG said.

Data shows that less than 77% of flights were on time last year, compared to more than 81% in 2021. Delta had the best rate, at 82.5%; while ultra-low-cost carrier Allegiant Air had the worst, at 63%.

The domestic flight cancellation rate was 2.7%, up from about 1.8% in 2021. Hawaiian Airlines had the lowest cancellation rate, at 0.92%, while JetBlue had the highest, with 3.74%.

The overall lost bag rate increased from 0.51% in 2021 to 0.64% in 2022. Allegiant Air had the lowest lost bag rate at 0.16%; while American Airlines had the highest rate, with 0.94%.