DOT fines JetBlue for ‘chronic flight delays’

The Department of Transport fined JetBlue Airways $2 million for “chronic flight delays,” the first penalty of its kind, the DOT said Friday.

JetBlue operated four routes that were delayed at least 145 times between June 2022 and November 2023, according to the DOT. They were between JetBlue’s home hub at JFK International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina; between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Fla., and JFK, and between Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Windsor Locks, Conn., according to the DOT.

“Today’s action shows all airlines that we expect their flight schedules to be realistic,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a news release.

JetBlue is responsible for more than 70% of the disruptions on four routes, according to the DOT. The airline failed to adjust flight times to avoid an illegal, unrealistic schedule, the agency added.

The DOT considers a flight to be chronically delayed if it operates at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late more than half of the time. He said other airlines are still being investigated for unrealistic flight schedules.

JetBlue said in a statement that the government must do more to improve the staffing of air traffic controllers and modernize the system, echoing calls from executives Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and other major carriers.

“Although we have reached an agreement to resolve this matter regarding the four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe that the responsibility for safe air travel rests equally with the US government, which manages our nation’s air traffic control system,” it said. JetBlue said in a statement. “We believe the United States should have the safest, most efficient and most advanced air traffic control system in the world, and we urge the incoming administration to prioritize modernizing aging air traffic control technology and addressing the chronic shortage of air traffic controllers to reduce air traffic control delays, which affect millions of people. air travelers every year.”

JetBlue, based in New York, operates in some of the most congested airspace in the world. From January to September 2024, JetBlue ranked ninth among 10 U.S. airlines for on-time arrivals, with 71.3% of flights arriving on time, up 64.9% from last year, according to the monthly DOT counting.

The Transportation Department said it will credit JetBlue with $1 million of the fine for goodwill compensation already paid to passengers during the investigation, as well as compensation to be paid within a year of the order with vouchers to affected passengers of at least $75.