The passenger flight cancellation rate for US airlines in April decreased compared with March’s rate, but increased year over year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. The year-over-year rate has increased in each month since December.

In April, US carriers operated about 654,800 flights, up from the 638,800 operated a year prior. The cancellation rate was 0.9%, up from the 0.8% reported in April 2025, but down from the 2.9% reported in March 2026.

JetBlue (0.1%), Allegiant Air (0.1%) and Southwest Airlines (0.3%) were the domestic carriers with the lowest cancellation rates in April. The highest rates were reported for Spirit Airlines (3.4%), Frontier Airlines (1.3%) and United Airlines network (1.3%). Networks include branded codeshare partners.

In April, US airlines handled nearly 36.6 million bags, with a mishandled baggage rate of 0.36%, down from 0.43% reported in 2025 and from 0.55% reported in March of this year.

The number of complaints filed in April decreased to 7,278 compared with 8,571 received in March. About 67% were lodged against US carriers, 28% against foreign carriers and 5% against travel agencies. The subcategories with the most complaints were refunds (2,296), flight schedule (1,323) and baggage (1,013).