The Department of Transportation announced a $2 million penalty Friday against JetBlue for multiple chronically delayed flights, the first time the agency has penalized an airline for persistent flight delays.
The Transportation Department (DOT) defines a flight as chronically delayed if it is flown at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late more than half of the time. DOT investigators found JetBlue operated four chronically delayed flights at least 145 times between June 2022 through November 2023, with each flight delayed for five or more consecutive months.
The DOT said it is currently investigating other airlines for unrealistic flight schedules that cause chronic delays.
“Illegal chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers. Today’s action puts the airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or unrealistic scheduling practices in order to protect healthy competition and ensure passengers are treated fairly.”
Half of the penalty will compensate JetBlue customers affected by the chronic delays as well as any disruptions caused by the airline within the next year, the department said, while $1 million will go directly to the Treasury Department.
JetBlue said in a statement that the airline “work[s] work very hard to operate our flights as scheduled” and has invested tens of millions of dollars over the past two years to reduce flight delays.
DOT estimates — based on data provided by JetBlue — that the airline was responsible for more than 70 percent of the disruptions for the four chronically delayed flights. JetBlue said flight delays are “particularly related” to air traffic control challenges in their largest markets in the Northeast and Florida.
“While we’ve reached a settlement to resolve this matter regarding four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe accountability for reliable air travel equally lies with the U.S. government, which operates our nation’s air traffic control system,” JetBlue said.
JetBlue urged the incoming administration to prioritize the modernization of air traffic controller technology and address a chronic air traffic controller staffing shortage, which was exacerbated by a training backlog during the pandemic.
