JetBlue fined $2 million for chronic flight delays, DOT investigates others

On January 7, 2025By Littum

The US Department of Transportation fined JetBlue $2 million for persistent flight delays, the first penalty for unrealistic scheduling.
The DOT found that JetBlue operated four routes with delays of more than 30 minutes at least 145 times between June 2022 and November 2023.
JetBlue must pay $1 million to the state treasury and use the other $1 million to compensate affected passengers.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has fined JetBlue Airways $2 million for operating multiple chronically delayed flights, marking the department’s first-ever enforcement action against an airline for unrealistic scheduling.

The fine relates to flights that consistently arrived more than 30 minutes late over several consecutive months, a practice the Transport Ministry says misleads passengers and distorts competition in the airline industry. The investigation revealed that JetBlue operated four chronically delayed routes at least 145 times between June 2022 and November 2023.

“Unlawful chronic flight delays make flying unreliable for travelers. Today’s action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “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 that passengers are treated fairly.”

JetBlue’s delayed routes included flights between New York’s JFK Airport and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, as well as routes connecting Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Orlando, Windsor Locks, Connecticut and JFK.

Under the penalty, JetBlue must pay $1 million to the U.S. Treasury Department and use the remaining $1 million to compensate passengers. Customers will receive at least $75 if they experience future JetBlue delays of three hours or more within the next year.

“We appreciate how important it is for our customers to arrive at their destinations on time and work very hard to complete our flights as scheduled,” JetBlue said in a statement. “While we have reached a settlement to resolve this case involving four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe the responsibility for reliable air travel also rests with the U.S. government, which operates our nation’s air traffic control system. We believe the United States 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 shortages to reduce ATC delays that affect millions of air travelers every year.”

The airline also highlighted that over the past two years it 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.”

The enforcement is part of a broader crackdown on airline practices under the Biden administration. The Department for Transport has rolled out new rules to improve passenger protection, including automatic cash refunds for significant delays and bans on surprise junk charges.

The Department of Transportation is also investigating other airlines for similar scheduling practices.