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Around half of Australian travellers, or 55 per cent, experienced a flight disruption in the 12 months to August 2025, according to new data from the federal government.
The survey, conducted by the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian government (BETA) alongside the Interim Aviation Consumer Ombuds Scheme (ACOS), found that delays most commonly ranged from 15 minutes to three hours, with only 31 per cent satisfied with how they were handled.
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According to the BETA report, complaints were nevertheless “rare despite the level of experienced disruptions”.
“Less than one in 10 (eight per cent) of travellers made a complaint. Only 2 out of 5 people who made a complaint (39 per cent) were satisfied with the outcome, and less than one out of 5 (17 per cent) were satisfied with the complaint process overall,” the report read.
“An additional three per cent intended to make a complaint about a disruption or issue in the last 12 months, but either did not start or complete the process.
“This group identified a lack of energy and time (52 per cent) and a belief their complaint would not make a difference or be taken seriously (48 per cent) as the key barriers to following through with a complaint.
“This suggests some Australians believe the complaints process will be too long or that it will often not result in the desired outcome.”
The report also found that 56 per cent of Australians travelled by air over the 12-month period, with 77 per cent being satisfied with their airlines and 78 per cent with departure airports, figures which the report said were “comparable to that of other nations”.
Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Airlines for Australia and New Zealand (A4ANZ) chief executive Stephen Beckett said disruptions are “not a massive and wholesale problem” and that airlines are continuing to improve on performance.
“There are periods such as the post-COVID phase which created disruptions, but we’re on the other side of that now,” he said.
In a statement, Transport Minister Catherine King flagged the low satisfaction rate with complaints as a reason why the government’s consumer protection legislation, put to parliament last month, has become necessary.
“At the moment, individual airlines and airports manage their own processes and complaints, but it is clear that system is not working. That is why we introduced new legislation in April, to ensure there are clear and easy to follow processes when things go wrong,” she said.
“The legislation paves the way for the Aviation Consumer Protections Charter, an Australian first, which will set minimum standards expected from airline and airport services for aviation consumers. This charter will be overseen by an authority within the Department of Infrastructure.
An independent Aviation Consumer Ombudsperson will also be appointed to act as an independent body working with travellers, airlines and airports to resolve complaints.
“This legislation is an important first step to ensure the travelling public get a better deal, and have a far more consistent and clear [method] of getting the help and support they need when flights are disrupted.”
The initial “screen-in” survey polled around 7,600 people, with 4,000 adult Australians then serving as a representative sample for more in-depth questions.
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allister polkinghorne
says:Delays are happening more often than 12 months ago because of the ‘upgrade’ of ATC systems. The OFF BLOCKS TIME (OBT) system gives pilots a 9 minute window to depart based on a company submitted OBT. You never know if all your passengers will be boarded early which is ideal, then you push back and depart early making the next turnaround on time or better. Making everyone delay until the departure window (5 minutes before, 4 minutes after OBT) coupled with an ATC delay puts you late on the first sector. Then every subsequent sector will run late with the added issue of revised OBT times.
The OBT system only changes in 5 minute increments, so if you miss your OBT window by 20 seconds, the next one available in 9 minutes 40 seconds away.
The whole system cost $20 million and sought to fix a problem that didn’t exist. Monumental waste that continues to make life more difficult and waste everyone’s time. Time to ditch it.