If you’ve ever tried to file a complaint with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) after a trip has turned sideways, you know the drill: endless forms, confused portals, weeks of radio silence. The DOT system was built in the 1990s long before smartphones and instant digital communication, and it showed. However, last month, DOT launched a new upgraded complaint platform called the Aviation Complaint, Enforcement and Reporting System (Acres), which aims to overhaul how air travelers raise concerns, including issues such as luggage handling issues and accessibility failures.
The platform promises to deal with complaints quickly and make the process more transparent. Submissions will arrive immediately at the airline, and passengers can log in to check their status. This is something that older systems are not allowed.
The launch occurs as Dot is retreating from one of its most ambitious consumer rights proposals. This is the rule that airlines had to pay passengers in cash due to long delays under the control of passengers. The rules were told by consumer advocates as long-term protections and were shelved after active airline lobbying, raising questions about whether the agency is committed to increasing passenger protection.
“DOT is scrapping the rules regarding delay and cancellation compensation, but the complaint system still serves many other purposes,” Meghna Maharishi, an airline reporter for Skift, a travel industry news site, told Afar. “Travelers can still use a complaint system for submitting complaints about flight issues such as lost or incorrect luggage or wheelchairs, services, refunds and long delays.
In other words, an upgraded system does not guarantee late payments, but still gives travelers an important path to seeking remedies when things go wrong.
What the new system does
The redesigned consumer portal is more intuitive and mobile-friendly, and comes with a clearer prompt as to what complaints you can file. Travelers can submit not only complaints but also tributes and comments. Stronger privacy and security protections replace vulnerabilities in older systems.
Perhaps most importantly, Acers sends complaints in real time to the airline and ticket agents. In previous setups, a transmission could take up to a month to reach the carrier. The new immediacy should give passengers a more clear sense of whether their case is being addressed.
DOT also says it makes it easier for systems to easily spot problems across the industry. Airlines are currently receiving standardized detailed reports, allowing regulators to better track trends if carriers are repeatedly mishandling mobility devices or experiencing chronic customer service outages.
What the new system doesn’t do
For all upgrades, Acers does not change the basic power dynamics of air travel. The DOT warns that it may not respond to all complaints, taking into account the volume it receives. Additionally, airlines are expected to respond to passengers, but there is no guarantee that they will resolve any issues with traveler satisfaction.
That’s where the rollback of the compensation rule stabs. For many flyers, cash payments for avoidable disruptions would have represented a tangible change in accountability. Instead, what they received was a smoother way of complaining. Yes, it’s an improvement, but it has not actually been implemented.
