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Feds Hit JetBlue with $2M Penalty Over ‘Persistent Flight Delays’ – One America News Network


Jet Blue airline employees conduct maintenance on the engine of an Airbus A320 in a JFK International Airport hangar in New York on March 4, 2024, ahead of the Career Discovery Week event. This comes after JetBlue and Spirit Airlines ended their merger plans following a federal judge's ruling that deemed it a violation of U.S. antitrust laws. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)
Jet Blue airline employees conduct maintenance on the engine of an Airbus A320 in a JFK International Airport hangar in New York on March 4, 2024, ahead of the Career Discovery Week event. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff James Meyers
9:29 AM – Friday, January 3, 2025

The U.S. Department of Transportation has imposed a $2 million fine on JetBlue due to “operating multiple chronically delayed flights,” marking a historic enforcement action by federal authorities.

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In a statement on Friday, the agency noted that this is the first instance of an airline being penalized specifically for chronic delays on designated routes, attributing the issue to “unrealistic scheduling” practices by JetBlue.

“Chronic illegal flight delays undermine travel reliability. Today’s decision sends a strong message to the airline industry that we expect their schedules to accurately reflect operational realities,” stated Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Airlines must not propose schedules that do not align with actual departure and arrival times. However, an investigation revealed that JetBlue operated four flights with chronic delays at least 145 times between June 2022 and November 2023, according to the agency.

Each of these flights experienced delays extending for five consecutive months or longer. Despite prior warnings from the Department of Transportation about misleading departure and arrival times, JetBlue continued to operate three additional persistently delayed flights between various airports, including JFK and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, as well as Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida.

In total, these four flights accounted for 395 delays and cancellations, the agency reported.

The Department of Transportation is also examining other airlines for potentially unrealistic flight schedules that fail to align with actual times. A flight is classified as chronically delayed if it operates at least 10 times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late over 50% of the time, including cancellations as delays, the agency indicated.

Moreover, it was determined that JetBlue was responsible for over 70% of the chronically delayed flights.

Consequently, the airline must pay half of the $2 million fine to the U.S. Treasury, with the remaining $1 million designated to compensate affected JetBlue passengers for the delayed flights or disruptions occurring within the next year, with minimum compensation of $75 per passenger.

“Chronic illegal flight delays undermine travel reliability. Today’s action sends a clear message that we expect airline schedules to reflect real conditions,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg remarked. “The department is committed to enforcing the law against airlines with chronic delays or unreasonable scheduling, in order to ensure fair treatment for passengers and maintain competitive practices in commercial aviation.”

In response, JetBlue asserted that it has invested tens of millions of dollars over the past two years to mitigate flight delays, claiming noticeable improvements in 2024.

“While we have reached a settlement regarding the four flights in question from 2022 and 2023, we contend that accountability for reliable air travel also rests with the U.S. government, which manages the air traffic control system,” a spokesperson commented.

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