The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines (WN, Dallas Love Field) for “illegally operating multiple chronically delayed flights and disrupting passengers’ travel.” It also fined Frontier Airlines (F9, Denver International) for operating delayed flights.
In its suit against Southwest, the DOT highlighted delays on routes such as Chicago O'Hare to Oakland International, which averaged a delay of 77.6 minutes between April and July 2022, and Baltimore International to Cleveland Hopkins, which experienced average monthly delays of up to 96 minutes for at least five consecutive months during the same year. Southwest itself was found to be responsible for more than 90% of the disruptions on these routes.
“Southwest’s conduct violated the Federal Aviation Act’s prohibition on unfair or deceptive practices or unfair methods of competition in air transportation,” the regulator stated. It is seeking civil penalties against Southwest, which could face fines of up to $37,377 per violation.
In a statement, Southwest said it was disappointed that the DOT had chosen to file a lawsuit "over two flights that occurred more than two years ago." It added that since the DOT issued its Chronically Delayed Flight policy in 2009, it had operated over 20 million flights with no other violations.
Meanwhile, the DOT fined Frontier USD650,000 in civil penalties for operating delayed flights, with USD325,000 to be paid to the US Treasury and the remaining USD325,000 suspended, provided the airline avoids operating chronically delayed flights over the next three years.
Frontier declined to comment.
Earlier this year, the DOT also fined JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) USD2 million for similar violations.
