How To Submit A Customer Service Request To An Airline

File a Consumer Complaint

Before you contact DOT for help with an air travel trouble, yous should give the airline a take chances to resolve it. Airlines have trouble-shooters at the airports, unremarkably called Customer Service Representatives, who tin take intendance of many problems on the spot. They may be able to arrange meals and hotel rooms for stranded passengers, write checks if you're bumped from your flying, assist with baggage problems, and settle other routine claims or complaints.

If you can't resolve the problem at the airport, you lot may want to file a complaint with the airline. DOT requires airlines to acknowledge consumer complaints within 30 days of receiving them and to send consumers written responses addressing these complaints within 60 days of receiving them. DOT also requires airlines to let consumers know how to complain to them.

It's often best to email or write to the airline's consumer office at its corporate headquarters. DOT requires airlines that wing to, from, or within the Us to state on their websites how and where complaints can be submitted. There may exist a form on the airline's website for this purpose.

If you lot feel that the airline does not resolve the event to your satisfaction, you may want to file a complaint with DOT. Y'all may too file a complaint with DOT if you feel that you lot experienced unlawful discriminatory treatment in air travel past airline employees or the airline's contractors on the basis of disability or on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), religion, or beginnings.

Safety and Security Complaints

Please notation that aviation safety and security complaints are not handled by DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Partitioning.

If you have a concern about airline safety (airline and plane rubber, emergency exit seating, low-flying aircraft, pilot licensing and related issues), please visit the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) website to written report a safety-related issue.
If you have a business organization about aviation security (passenger screening, the "no-fly" list, the baggage screening process, and related problems), call the Transportation Security Assistants (TSA) toll-free at 1-866-289-9673 or email TSA. For additional information, visit the TSA website.

Contact United states of america Past Phone or Mail

If y'all wish to submit a complaint to DOT via written letter, delight experience gratis to do and so using the contact information below. When mailing a letter, please include your full address and phone number equally well every bit consummate and authentic information about your trip and the problem you had or are having.

Contact us past phone – You may contact DOT by telephone at 202-366-2220. Delight know that in order for a example to be processed as a complaint, information technology must be submitted in writing.

Contact us by post – To contact us by mail, please transport your correspondence to the below accost.
- Office of Aviation Consumer Protection
  U.S. Department of Transportation
  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC 20590

How the Complaint Procedure Works

For Inability and Bigotry Complaints

A Transportation Industry Analyst will forrad your complaint to the airline, and the airline volition exist required to reply to yous and the DOT.
Once the airline's response is received, a DOT analyst will review your complaint and the airline'southward response to make up one's mind if a violation occurred. Afterwards the analyst reviews your case, it will be given to an attorney for review. Once your case is reviewed by an attorney, an assay with our findings will be mailed to you. Please note that due to the volume of cases received, and the thoroughness of this process, it may take some time to fully process your case.

For All Other Complaints

A Transportation Manufacture Analyst volition forwards your complaint to the airline and the airline will be required to provide you with a response. The analyst will ask the airline to provide a copy of the response to DOT just if information technology falls under i of the areas DOT enforces. The DOT analyst will and then review the instance to make up one's mind whether a violation occurred. If your complaint does not appear to fall under whatever of the laws that we enforce, information technology volition still exist logged in our database.
Every calendar month, DOT publishes its Air Travel Consumer Study, which contains information most the number of complaints nosotros receive about each airline and what problems people are having. This written report is fabricated available to the public so that consumers and air travel companies can compare the complaint records of individual airlines and tour operators. In addition to complaints, the report also contains statistics that the airlines file with u.s. on flight delays, cancellations, bumping, mishandled baggage, and other helpful information.

How Do Consumer Complaints Help DOT?

Complaints from consumers help DOT spot problem areas and trends in the airline industry. Complaints can lead to enforcement action confronting an airline when a serious violation of the constabulary has occurred. Complaints may also be the footing for rulemaking deportment.