The Transportation Department on Friday announced a $2 million fine against JetBlue Airways for operating several East Coast flights that chronically arrived in late 2022 and 2023. Half of the money raised will go to affected passengers.
The fine marks the first time the DOT has fined an airline for chronic delays, which the federal agency defines as flights flown at least 10 times a month and that are late more than half an hour more than 50 percent of the time arrive.
“Illegal chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers. “Today’s action puts the entire aviation industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
The DOT said it had warned JetBlue of continued delays on its flights between Kennedy International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina. It added that airlines have a “legal responsibility to prevent chronic delays” and that these months-long flights were unfair and deceptive.
The four routes studied flew between JFK and Raleigh-Durham Airport; JFK and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida; JFK and Orlando International Airport; and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport and Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. Between June 2022 and November 2023, flights were chronically delayed for five months in a row. According to estimates from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, more than 70 percent of the disruptions on these flights were caused by the airline.
“The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or other unrealistic scheduling practices to protect healthy competition in commercial aviation and ensure passengers are treated fairly,” Buttigieg said.
Derek Dombrowski, a spokesman for JetBlue, said in a statement that the airline had invested tens of millions of dollars over the past two years to reduce flight delays and had seen “significant operational improvements.” Mr. Dombrowski also said air traffic control issues have contributed to the airline's operational challenges in the Northeast and Florida.
Last week, JetBlue made headlines when a flight from Turks and Caicos bound for Boston was delayed for more than 24 hours, leaving passengers stranded without accommodation.
From January to September last year, about 71 percent of JetBlue's flights were on time, according to Transportation Department data, and the airline ranked second in punctuality among the 10 largest domestic airlines (Frontier Airlines ranked last) . According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, during the same period, more than 9 percent of JetBlue flight delays were caused by the airline.
