WASHINGTON (TVR) – Complaints filed by passengers against airlines soared 71% in April, the same month several viral incidents shamed carriers into changing policies relating to overbooking, compensation, and use of law enforcement on board planes.

Monthly data released by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday showed consumer complaints jumped against both domestic and foreign airlines.

For the month of April, the latest period for which data is available, passengers entered 1,877 complaints against all airlines, an increase of 71.4% over April 2016.

Complaints filed with the federal government against U.S. airlines surged 64.3%, while complaints against foreign carriers spiked 98.6%.

Courtesy: USDOT

Travelers on Spirit Airlines complained the most in April, with 7.20 complaints per 100,000 passengers—14 times the rate of complaints on Southwest, the US DOT said.

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Complaints Follow Viral Videos

The jump in complaints came the same month in which video of several incidents on planes went viral.

By far, the one with the most lasting and far-reaching impact was the case of Dr. David Dao, who was dragged off a full flight by Chicago Aviation Department officers after refusing to give up his seat after boarding.

Dao, who suffered several facial injuries and a concussion, later reached an undisclosed settlement with the airline.

American Airlines also suffered in the court of public opinion in April, when a video of a confrontation between a tearful woman with a baby stroller, a flight attendant, and a first class passenger went viral.

The flight attendant could be heard urging the passenger to “hit me.”

The airline later apologized.

Delta also found itself apologizing that month, after severe weather melted down the carrier’s operations, leading to thousands of cancelled flights and misplaced crews.

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Outrage Leads to Airline Changes

In response to customer ire, many airlines change their policies and procedures

United apologized and overhauled its overbooking and compensation policies.

Among other changes, it will offer passengers up to $10,000 in vouchers in oversold situations so as to avoid involuntarily bumping a traveler off a flight, as it did to Dr. Dao.

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Delta also altered its compensation rules, authorizing supervisors to offer up to $9,950 in overbooking situations.

Southwest ended its practice of deliberate overbooking altogether.

In a hearing after the incident, Congress warned airline CEOs that if they did not improve customer service, lawmakers could add further consumer protections into law.

The House Transportation Committee even set up a special email address to take flier suggestions for improving aviation.

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