DOT fines JetBlue for ‘chronic flight delays’

The Ministry of Transport was punished 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 from June 2022 to November 2023, the DOT said. This was between JetBlue’s home hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina; between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida, and JFK, and between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Windsor Locks, Connecticut, according to the DOT.

“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 press release.

JetBlue was responsible for more than 70% of the disruptions on the four routes, the DOT said. The airline failed to adjust flight times “to avoid unlawful unrealistic scheduling,” the department added.

The DOT considers a flight to be chronically late if it is flown at least 10 times a month and is more than 30 minutes late more than half of the time. Other airlines are said to be under investigation for unrealistic flight schedules.

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

“While we have reached a settlement to resolve this matter regarding four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe the responsibility for reliable air travel rests equally with the US government, which manages our national air traffic control system,” JetBlue said in a statement. “We believe the U.S. should have the safest, most efficient and advanced air traffic control system in the world, and we encourage the incoming administration to prioritize modernizing aging ATC technology and addressing the chronic shortage of air traffic controller personnel to reduce ATC delays that affect millions of air travelers every year. years.”

Based in New York, JetBlue operates in some of the most congested airspace in the world. From January to September 2024, JetBlue ranked ninth out of 10 U.S. airlines in on-time arrivals with 71.3% of flights arriving on time, an improvement from 64.9% in the prior period, according to to the monthly DOT. tally.

The DOT said it will credit JetBlue with $1 million in goodwill compensation already paid to passengers during the investigation’s timeframe, as well as compensation paid within a year of the order with vouchers paid to affected passengers of at least $75.