The Biden administration sued Southwest Airlines on Wednesday, accusing the carrier of illegally operating multiple chronically delayed flights and disrupting passenger travel.
The Department of Transportation said in its civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Northern California that the carrier ran unrealistic schedules and said it is seeking maximum civil penalties. The Justice Department joined the suit.
USDOT said that for five months in 2022, Southwest operated two chronically delayed flights: one between Chicago Midway and Oakland, California, and another between Baltimore and Cleveland.
“Today’s action sends a message to all airlines that the department is prepared to go to court to enforce passenger protections,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The department also said Wednesday it was fining Frontier Airlines $650,000 for operating multiple chronically delayed flights. Frontier, which declined to comment, will pay $325,000 and must pay the remainder if it makes any chronically delayed flights in the next three years.
Southwest said it was disappointed that the USDOT chose to sue “over two flights that occurred more than two years ago.” Southwest said that since 2009, the carrier has flown more than 20 million flights without further violations.
“Any claim that these two flights represent an unrealistic schedule is simply unbelievable when compared to our performance over the past 15 years,” Southwest said. “In 2024, Southwest led the industry by completing more than 99% of its flights without cancellation.”
According to USDOT rules, a flight is chronically delayed if it is flown at least 10 times per month and is more than 30 minutes late at least 50% of the time.
It was unclear whether the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump would pursue the lawsuit.
Southwest in December 2023 agreed to offer $90 million in travel vouchers of $75 or more to passengers who were delayed at least three hours in reaching their final destinations because of a problem or cancellation caused by the airline, part of a settlement of USDOT for disrupting the carrier’s December 2022 holidays.
This month, the USDOT fined JetBlue Airways $2 million for operating four chronically delayed flights on domestic routes. It was the first such fine on an airline for the prohibited scheduling practice.
JetBlue agreed to pay a $1 million fine and the remainder will go toward compensating customers. JetBlue agreed to provide at least $75 worth of vouchers to passengers for future flight cancellations or delays of three hours or more caused by the airline within the next year.
The USDOT said at various points in 2022 and 2023 JetBlue operated chronically delayed flights between New York and Raleigh-Durham, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando along with a flight between Fort Lauderdale and Windsor Locks, Conn.
USDOT last month sought comment on whether it should mandate cash compensation for long delays or cancellations caused by airlines.
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