The Transportation Department announced Friday that it will impose a $2 million penalty on JetBlue Airways for chronically late flights along the East Coast, with half of the money going to delayed passengers.
The agency stated that this is the first time it has fined an airline for chronic delays on specific routes, which it blamed on JetBlue’s “unrealistic scheduling”.
“Illegal chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for passengers. “Today’s action serves notice to the entire airline industry that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated.
His department has led the Biden administration in criticizing airlines for poor service and raising passenger fees.
JetBlue stated that the government, which operates the air traffic control system, shares responsibility for late flights.
Airline spokesperson Derek Dombrowski stated that JetBlue has invested “tens of millions of dollars to reduce flight delays, particularly related to ongoing air traffic control challenges in our largest markets in the Northeast and Florida,” resulting in improved on-time performance in 2024, including during the peak summer travel season.
“While we’ve reached a settlement to resolve this matter regarding four (routes) 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,” Dombrowski told the crowd.
He stated that the incoming Trump administration should prioritize modernizing “outdated” air traffic control technology and understaffing of controllers hired by the FAA.
According to Transportation Department regulations, airlines are prohibited from publishing schedules that do not reflect actual departure and arrival times.
A flight is classified as chronically delayed if it operates at least ten times per month and arrives more than 30 minutes late more than half of the time.
The department cited JetBlue flights from June 2022 to November 2023. It said it had warned JetBlue about frequent delays on flights between New York’s John F.
Kennedy International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina. Flights between JFK and Fort Lauderdale, as well as Orlando, Florida, and Windsor Locks, Connecticut, were also frequently delayed.
