Initially, Fed Fine used JetBlue for chronic flight delays

The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined JetBlue $2 million for chronic flight delays, marking the first time the agency has imposed financial penalties on a company for its persistent failure to adhere to its schedules.

Between June 2022 and November 2023, the DOT determined that four of the airline’s combined flights were delayed by at least 30 minutes more than half the time they were flown over at least four consecutive months, a violation of agency rules prohibiting airlines from advertising. Misleading and unrealistic travel schedules. The violating flights were between New York City and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida; New York City and Fort Lauderdale. Fort Lauderdale and Windsor Locks, Connecticut.

“Chronic illegal flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers. Today’s action alerts the airline industry that we expect its flight schedules to reflect reality,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. statement. “The Administration will enforce the law against airlines experiencing chronic delays or unrealistic scheduling practices in order to protect healthy competition and ensure passengers are treated fairly.”

Based on data provided by JetBlue, the Department of Transportation estimated that the airline itself was responsible for more than 70 percent of the four flight delays.

The fine represents a drop in the bucket for JetBlue, which had revenues of $2.4 billion in the third quarter of 2024.

Half of the $2 million the airline must pay will go to the US Treasury Department in the form of cash, while the Department of Transportation has ordered the company to pay the other half to customers affected by related delays, who will receive at least $75 each.

JetBlue agreed to the settlement but did not admit any liability. The company said staffing and operational problems with air traffic control systems in the Northeast were the “root cause” of the delay.

“JetBlue has spent tens of millions of dollars investing in its systems and improving operations in order to address issues related to air traffic control…These past and ongoing efforts are reflected in the significant and sustained improvement in JetBlue’s operations over the past two years since,” the company wrote in response to the order. DOT approval: “The flights in question have occurred.”

In announcing the settlement with JetBlue, the Department of Transportation also touted its other recent accomplishments in regulating the airline industry. Under the Biden administration, it has issued nearly $225 million in penalties to airlines for consumer protection violations, triple the amount of fines it issued between 1996 and 2022, the agency said.