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The Transportation Department said Friday it will fine JetBlue $2 million for chronic delays, accusing the airline of publishing unrealistic schedules it knows it can’t actually achieve.

According to the DOT, JetBlue reportedly operated four routes that were delayed at least 145 times between June 2022 and November 2023, and each was delayed for five consecutive months. The DOT defines a flight as “chronically delayed” if it is scheduled at least 10 times a month and is at least 31 minutes late more than half.

John F. from New York in the flights. That includes the route between Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) on which the DOT said it previously issued a warning noting a trend of chronic delays. Three other routes were included under the penalty: JFK to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), JFK to Orlando International Airport (MCO) and Connecticut’s Bradley International Airport (BDL) to FLL.

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“Unlawful chronic flight delays make aviation unreliable for passengers,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “Today’s action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality.”

DOT said the airline was responsible for more than 70% of the delays on each route, rather than external factors such as air traffic control delays or inclement weather. If the cause was beyond the airline’s control, however, the airline will be responsible for adjusting its schedule to allow for those factors after the route is long delayed.

Friday’s enforcement represents the first time the DOT has fined an airline for chronic delays, the department said, adding that half of the fines will go toward compensating passengers affected by past or future delays.

In an interview with TPG last year, Buttigieg said the agency is pressuring airlines to “prove the reality of their schedules,” noting that carriers can publish scheduled departure and arrival times that they know they actually met for profit reasons. Can’t. market share or other anti-competitive reasons.”

“We have an active investigation right now, and we are calling on the airlines to do the right thing in the first place and have no reason to suspect that they are knowingly scheduling flights that they are not adequately prepared to serve,” Buttigieg said. At that time.

In a statement, JetBlue noted that it has made major investments in its operations over the past two years that have led to significant improvements in 2024; Carrier added that the challenges associated with air traffic control, which is overseen by the DOT, were significant in New York and Florida airspace.

“While we have reached a compromise to resolve this issue regarding the four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe that the responsibility for reliable air travel rests equally with the US government, which manages our nation’s air traffic control system,” JetBlue said in a statement. was

“We believe the U.S. should have the safest, most efficient and advanced air traffic control system in the world, and we urge the incoming administration to prioritize the modernization of outdated ATC technology and the chronic air traffic controller staff shortage to reduce ATC delays affecting millions of people. The number of air travelers per year is requested to be removed.”

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