During the previous administration, there had been significant delays in the release of disability complaint data and monthly Air Travel Consumer Reports (ATCRs) by the Department of Transportation, which I documented here and here.
Though the regular cadence of ATCR releases has resumed, complaint data continues to be excluded, which limits visibility into the number and frequency of disability-related complaints lodged against airlines. The DOT states the following about these reporting delays:
The release of the submissions data in the ATCR continues to be delayed primarily because of the tens of thousands of complaints received against airlines and ticket agents received by the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (OACP) and the time needed to review and process these consumer complaints using the Department’s outdated legacy consumer complaint application system. Over the past three years, complaints made up an average of 91% of consumer submissions.
The argument is not particularly convincing, since the Department had no trouble releasing data on complaints submitted through the same legacy system in prior years, and reporting the number of received complaints does not require investigations of each complaint to be completed. The backlog no doubt impacts the agency's ability to effectively engage in enforcement of the Air Carrier Access Act, which has been severely lacking save for a $50 million fine against American Airlines that was long overdue.
Data from the most recent February 2025 ATCR contains full-year wheelchair damage data for the 2024 calendar year. The absence of complaint data has prevented a holistic ranking of airlines based on their treatment of disabled passengers, which I have released in prior years (see the 2022 ranking of the best and worst airlines for wheelchair users), however damage data can still be useful to disabled travelers in the selection of an airline.
Ranking U.S. Airlines Using 2024 Wheelchair Damage Statistics
Based on full-year data for 2024, here is a ranking of airlines based on the frequency of mishandled (lost, damaged or delayed) wheelchairs and scooters (the 2023 rates are included in parentheses):
- Delta Air Lines — 0.63% (0.68%)
- Allegiant Air — 0.75% (0.37%)
- United Airlines — 0.97% (1.15%)
- Hawaiian Airlines — 1.04% (1.21%)
- Southwest Airlines — 1.44% (1.63%)
- Alaska Airlines — 1.54% (1.84%)
- JetBlue Airways — 1.59% (1.61%)
- American Airlines — 1.63% (1.77%)
- Frontier Airlines — 1.76% (1.88%)
- Spirit Airlines — 2.07% (5.35%)
In 2024, airlines carried 899,385 wheelchairs, about 65,000 more than in 2023. The frequency of wheelchair damage has decreased slightly, from 1.38% in 2023 to 1.26% in 2024. One reason for this may be increased investments in the 6 Tools Airlines Can Use to Prevent Wheelchair Damage.
The biggest improvement was seen at Spirit Airlines, which saw its rate of mishandled wheelchairs decrease from 5.35% in 2023 to 2.07% on 2024, with a rate of 1.30% in the most recent month for which data is available (December 2024). In earlier reporting, I had called out Spirit's significantly worse performance as a puzzling outlier:
Some outliers in this data set raise questions. Why is Spirit Airlines treating wheelchairs so badly? Allegiant Air has reported mishandling just 10 wheelchairs this year, despite carrying more than 15,000. How has Allegiant performed so well, even without many of the tools other airlines use to prevent wheelchair damage? How trustworthy is any of this self-reported data?
In reviewing the data more closely, Spirit Airlines reported carrying 27,779 wheelchairs and scooters in 2024, a sharp increase from the 11,529 it reported in 2023. It is likely that Spirit failed to accurately capture the number of mobility devices it transported in 2023, which caused the airline to appear much worse compared with other carriers.
Passengers should note that the Air Carrier Access Act holds airlines liable for damage to wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility devices — they must repair or replace those devices at their own expense. Given that fact, what role does this ranking have on your choice of airlines?
