The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined JetBlue Airways $2 million for delayed flights, marking the first time the department has imposed such a penalty on an airline for delays.
According to the DOT, $1 million of the fine will be allocated to compensate JetBlue customers affected by delays or disruptions over the next year.
The remaining $1 million will be paid directly to the U.S. Treasury, with $500,000 due within 60 days and the balance due within one year of the first payment. Additionally, the DOT announced that it is investigating other airlines for “unrealistic flight schedules” that do not accurately reflect actual flight departure and arrival times.
“The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or other unrealistic scheduling practices in order to protect healthy competition in commercial aviation and ensure passengers are treated fairly,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement.
Under DOT regulations, a flight is considered chronically delayed if it has been operated at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late more than half of the time. Cancellations are also included in the DOT’s delay calculations.
The DOT determined that JetBlue had operated four chronically delayed flights at least 145 times between June 2022 and November 2023. Each of these flights was delayed for five consecutive months or more.
The department specifically warned JetBlue about chronic delays on its flight between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Raleigh-Durham, and the airline continued to operate three additional chronically delayed flights: one between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla., one between JFK and Fort Lauderdale, and another between Fort Lauderdale and Windsor Locks, Conn.
In response, a JetBlue spokesperson stated that the airline understands the importance of on-time arrivals for passengers and works hard to keep flights on schedule. Over the past two years, the airline claimed to have invested “tens of millions of dollars” to reduce delays, particularly those related to air traffic control shortages and challenges 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,” the spokesperson said.
“We believe the U.S. should have the safest, most efficient, and advanced air traffic control system in the world, and we urge the incoming administration to prioritize modernizing outdated ATC technology and addressing chronic air traffic controller staffing shortages to reduce ATC delays that affect millions of air travelers each year.”
In the DOT’s latest air travel consumer report, covering January to September of the previous year, 71.29% of JetBlue’s flights were on time, placing the airline ninth out of 10 major U.S. carriers. Hawaiian Airlines ranked first with 82.69% of its flights arriving on time during the same period.
The DOT has strengthened passenger protections in recent years, including new regulations requiring airlines to disclose fees in airfares and provide automatic cash refunds to passengers when applicable.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Sean Duffy, a former congressman and Fox Business host, to lead the department in his next term. The DOT also announced that future compensation for affected passengers will be a minimum of $75 per person.