VIDEO: Air travel complaints and concerns on rise since June

(NBC) - NBC'S Sam Brock reports on air travel concerns as many passengers prepare to travel for the labor day holiday and tips on how to make the experience more smooth.

After a chaotic summer travel season, a report from the Department of Transportation found airline customer complaints sky-rocketed in June.

If you're flying this upcoming labor day weekend or you're already thinking about the winter holidays, our Sam Brock has some tips.

This morning with summer travel winding down, a new report reveals significant elevation in travel complaints.

The Department of Transportation releasing a consumer report which found airline complaints soared to sky-high levels in June - up nearly 35 percent from may and almost 270 percent from before the pandemic.

In the first six months of 2022 alone, there have been more complaints than all of 2019.

The new numbers no surprise for those who took to the skies this summer.

"It has been the worst experience ever" a traveler Melissa Bushnell says.

With airline reliability or lack there of topping the of gripes, the report zeroes in on which airlines were the most punctual.

Alaska (78.7%), Delta (78.4%) and Hawaiian Airlines (77.2%) landed on-time most often, though all were well below historic norms from the last 20 years (84.5%).

While Frontier (69.5%), Jet Blue (61.3% and Allegiant (59%) make up the bottom three with the highest rate of delays.

Allegiant landing around two of every five flights late.

The airline telling us "It continues to be impacted by an unprecedented labor shortage at a time when demand for air travel is at an all-time high" and and adding they are "actively working to mitigate" the problem.

On the cancellation front, American (4.4%), Delta (3.9%) and United (3.5%) all saw the highest cancellation rates this June, though they also offer the most flights.

American and Delta tell us they have since improved their operations.

"June was the worst month of the year when it comes to flight delays and cancellations... Now I think things have improved significantly but I think it really underscores just how bad things got with air travel" travel expert Scott Keyes says.

One key tip ahead of the holiday travel boom, book early flights.

The report finding those flights were abut 25% more likely to be on-time than those at the end of the day.

And if you're caught in a travel nightmare with a delayed or canceled flight, be sure to ask the airline for compensation.

"Everything is on the table and it never hurts to ask" says travel expert Scott Keyes.

Still, some hope for travelers heading into the fall.

Many experts are expecting ticket prices to drop after the busy summer season.

And of course - if you take to the road instead - gas prices are still falling- good news for drivers over labor day weekend.