The Department of Transportation has fined JetBlue $2 million for delayed flights. Some of the money will be paid to customers who were affected by the delays.
The fine, according to CNN, is the first the DOT has issued against an airline for delays.
A chronic flight delay is when a flight has been flown at least 10 times a month and arrives at least 30 minutes late half the time. Cancellations are considered delays in this formula.
JetBlue, according to the DOT, had four chronically delayed flights at least 145 times from June 2022 to November 2023. The flight that was at the center of the department’s attention was the route between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Raleigh-Durham. The other routes were between JFK and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, JFK and Orlando International Airport and Fort Lauderdale and Bradley International in Connecticut, The New York Times reported.
“The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or other unrealistic scheduling practices in order to protect healthy competition in commercial aviation and ensure passengers are treated fairly,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
The department said that $1 million will be paid to customers whose flights were delayed or disrupted with the payments going out within the next year. The other million will be paid to the department in two parts -- $500,000 due in the next 60 days and the rest paid within a year of the first payment, CNN reported.
The company said in a statement to the Times that it has already invested tens of millions of dollars to reduce delays that have resulted in “significant operational improvements” and that some delays were due to air traffic control issues in the Northeast and Florida.
JetBlue recently had a flight from Turks and Caicos to Boston that was delayed for more than 24 hours leaving passengers stranded. Passengers told Boston25News that they were kicked out of the airport while they waited with nowhere to go.
The company released a statement to Boston25News at the time which read:
“On Saturday, December 28, JetBlue flight 754, with scheduled service from Turks and Caicos to Boston, experienced a significant delay after the inbound aircraft had to divert to Fort Lauderdale, due to heavy Air Traffic Control (ATC) congestion and extended holding in the area. The flight was delayed until the following day, safely arriving in Turks and Caicos to pick up our customers before completing its flight to Boston.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this delay caused and understand this was a frustrating situation. While the delay was created by circumstances beyond JetBlue’s control, we understand the impact this disruption had on our customers’ plans. Given that, we’ve provided instructions for affected customers to submit reimbursement requests for eligible out-of-pocket expenses in line with our Customer Service Plan. Additionally, as a gesture of goodwill, we’ve issued $200 in travel credit for future JetBlue flights.”
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