Transportation Department takes action against Southwest Airlines for persistent delays and fines Frontier Airlines.
According to the agency, the U.S. District Court suit it filed on Wednesday in California alleges that Southwest operated flights with chronic delays and disrupted travel plans for passengers. It claims it is seeking “maximum penalties.”
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated that airlines have a legal duty to provide realistic arrival and departure times for travelers. “Today’s actions send a message to airlines that the Department is willing to go to court to enforce passenger rights.”
Transportation Department’s investigation revealed that Dallas-based Southwest operated chronically late flights between Chicago Midway International Airport, Oakland, California and Baltimore, Maryland, and Cleveland, Ohio.
The agency reported that both flights had been chronically late for five months in a row, resulting in 180 flight delays for passengers from April to August 2022.
Southwest released a statement in which it expressed disappointment that the agency had focused on flights more than two-years ago, and instead pointed to its record over a long period of time.
Southwest has flown more than 20 millions flights since DOT’s Chronically Delayed (CDF), policy was issued in 2009. There have been no CDF violations. The company stated that any claim that these flights are unrealistic is not credible compared to our performance in the last 15 years. Southwest Airlines led the industry in 2024 by completing over 99% of flights without cancelation.
Frontier Airlines was fined $650,000 by the Department of Transportation. Of that amount, $325,000 will be paid to U.S. Treasury. The remaining $325,000 will be suspended as long as the airline does not have any flights with chronic delays in the next 3 years. Frontier, which is based in Denver declined to comment.
The announcement came less than two week after the Transportation Department fined JetBlue for chronic delays. It was the first time the department imposed a fee for lateness along specific routes. JetBlue’s delays were attributed to “unrealistic schedules” by the agency. JetBlue said that the government, who operates the air traffic system, is also responsible for the delays.
Cirium, a provider of aviation data, said in its report published this month that Southwest Airlines ranked fifth in North America for on-time performance. It found that 77.8% arrivals and just under 77% departures took place on time last year. Delta Air Lines, the top-ranked airline, scored 83.5% on arrivals and 83.7 % on departures.
Southwest Airlines was under increased scrutiny by federal regulators last year after a number of incidents. These included flying at low altitudes miles from an airport. In July, the Federal Aviation Administration stated that it was concerned about whether Southwest Airlines adhered to federal safety regulations. The FAA refused to give details, but said that it constantly adjusts its oversight of airlines according to risk.
