The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Jan. 3 a $2 million penalty against JetBlue. The charge comes for operating several chronically delayed flights.

The penalty marks the first time the agency has fined an airline for chronic flight delays.

The DOT considers a flight chronically delayed if it flies at least 10 times a month and arrives over 30 minutes late more than 50% of the time. It also includes cancellations as delays. DOT rules prohibit airlines from promising unrealistic scheduling, which the agency describes as “an unfair, deceptive, and anticompetitive practice” that impacts passengers and the industry adversely.

An agency investigation found the chronic delays on four routes: JFK – Raleigh-Durham; JFK – Fort Lauderdale; JFK – Orlando; and Fort Lauderdale – Windsor Locks, Conn.

Between June 2022 through November 2023, DOT says JetBlue operated these four “chronically delayed flights” at least 145 times. The agency noted that each flight was chronically delayed for five straight months in a row, or more.

According to the estimates from the Bureau of Transportation, DOT says JetBlue was responsible for more than 70% of the disruptions of these four flights.

“Illegal chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Today’s action puts the airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality.”

The consent order, available here, calls for JetBlue to:

• Cease and desist its chronic flight delays
• Pay a $2 million penalty. Half will go to the U.S. Treasury, while the other half will compensate JetBlue passengers impacted by those delays — or any future disruptions caused by JetBlue within the next year. Those affected passengers will receive at least $75 each.

Other delays

In a statement to NJBIZ, JetBlue said it appreciates the importance of getting its customers to their destinations on time. The airline said it “work[s] very hard to operate our flights as scheduled.”

“Over the past two years, JetBlue has invested tens of millions of dollars to reduce flight delays, particularly related to ongoing air traffic control (ATC) challenges in our largest markets in the Northeast and Florida,” said JetBlue in its statement. “Through these efforts, we have seen significant operational improvements in 2024 including better on-time performance during this year’s peak summer travel season.”

While it reached a settlement pertaining to these four flights, JetBlue says it believes that accountability for reliable air travel equally lies with the government, which operates the nation’s air traffic control system.

“We believe that the U.S. should have the safest, more 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,” the statement closed.

DOT says there are ongoing investigations into other airlines for unrealistic flight schedules.

Buttigieg stressed, “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.”