The Department of Transportation has fined JetBlue $2 million for operating chronically delayed flights in 2022 and 2023.
The fine was based on four flights that arrived more than 30 minutes late more than half of the time over five or six consecutive months. Under DOT regulations, such results can be cited for unrealistic scheduling, which the DOT has the authority to punish as an unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive business practice.
The fine against JetBlue is the first that the DOT has ever levied for chronic flight delays. The department said that it has ongoing investigations into other airlines for unrealistic flight schedules.
In a statement, JetBlue said that it works hard to operate flights as scheduled, including investing tens of millions of dollars over the past two years to reduce flight delays. But the carrier also placed responsibility on air traffic control staffing shortages in the Northeast and Florida, where its largest markets are.
"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and advanced air traffic control system in the world, and we urge the incoming administration to prioritize modernizing outdated ATC technology and addressing chronic air traffic controller staffing shortages to reduce ATC delays that affect millions of air travelers each year," the airline said.
JetBlue entered into the $2 million settlement agreement with the DOT in order avoid the uncertainty and expense of litigation.
The four flights that triggered the fine operate between New York JFK and Raleigh-Durham, New York and Fort Lauderdale, New York and Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale and Hartford, Conn.
New York-Raleigh was chronically delayed for five consecutive months beginning in June 2022. The flights between JFK and both Fort Lauderdale and Orlando were chronically delayed for five straight months beginning in June 2023. The Fort Lauderdale-Hartford flight was chronically delayed for six consecutive months beginning in June 2023.
Under the terms of the consent agreement, JetBlue will pay $1 million directly to the U.S. Treasury. The other $1 million will be credited to JetBlue for payments it has made or will make over the next year to customers impacted by cancellations or delays of more than three hours that are the fault of the airline -- as opposed to external factors such as weather. Those payments, which can come in the form of flight vouchers, must be at least $75.
JetBlue has historically been an on-time laggard among U.S. airlines. In 2024, the carrier was on-time 74.5% of the time, topping only Frontier among the eight largest U.S. mainline carriers, according to Cirium's 2024 On-Time Performance Review.
Still, JetBlue's metrics improved substantially in 2024 compared to 2023, when it delayed 31.5% of flights according to FlightAware.
The airline has a heavy concentration of flights in the Northeast, where crowded skies and the nation's most substantial air traffic controller shortfall make operations especially challenging.
The FAA hit its controller hiring target of 1,800 during the last fiscal year and has set a goal of hiring 2,000 more controllers by Sept. 30 of this year. As of last May, the agency had a nationwide dearth of 3,000 controllers.