The Transportation Department announced on Friday a $2 million penalty against JetBlue Airways for operating several flights on the East Coast that chronically arrived late in 2022 and 2023. Half of the money collected will go to the impacted passengers.
The penalty is the first time that the D.O.T. has fined an airline for chronic delays, which the federal agency defines as flights that are flown at least 10 times a month that arrive more than a half-hour late more than 50 percent of the time.
“Illegal 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 D.O.T. said it had warned JetBlue about persistent delays on its flights between Kennedy International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina. It added that carriers have a “legal responsibility to avoid chronic delays” and that these flights for months was unfair and deceptive.