The U.S. Department of Transportation is intensifying its enforcement of ongoing flight delays by filing a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines and imposing a fine on Frontier Airlines.
On Wednesday, the department reported that it initiated a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in California, claiming that Southwest operated flights that were habitually delayed and disrupted travel for passengers. In this case, the agency is seeking the “maximum civil penalties” permitted.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated that airlines are legally required to provide realistic schedules for their flights. He emphasized that the recent legal action is intended to send a clear message: the department will take necessary measures to safeguard the rights of passengers.
According to the Transportation Department’s investigation, two Southwest flights—one operating between Chicago Midway International Airport and Oakland, California, and another from Baltimore, Maryland, to Cleveland, Ohio—were found to be chronically delayed. Both routes experienced significant delays for five consecutive months, causing a total of 180 disruptions for passengers from April through August 2022.
In response to these allegations, Southwest Airlines expressed disappointment with the Transportation Department’s focus on flights from over two years ago, asserting that it has an impressive long-term performance record. The airline noted that since the Department of Transportation introduced its Chronically Delayed Flight policy in 2009, it has conducted over 20 million flights without any other allegations of chronically delayed flights. They argued that the claim regarding these specific flights being from an unrealistic schedule lacks credibility when measured against the airline’s overall performance across the past 15 years. Additionally, they highlighted that in 2024, Southwest has successfully completed over 99% of its flights without cancellations.
The Transportation Department also imposed a civil penalty of $650,000 on Frontier Airlines, dividing the fine such that $325,000 will be paid to the U.S. Treasury, while the other half will be suspended if Frontier refrains from operating chronically delayed flights in the next three years. The Denver-based airline opted not to make any remarks regarding the situation.
This development follows the recent $2 million fine the Transportation Department punished JetBlue with less than two weeks prior for chronic delays due to “unrealistic scheduling.” In that case, JetBlue attributed some responsibility for flight delays to the government, which manages the air traffic control system.
A recent report from aviation data provider Cirium revealed Southwest ranked fifth among ten shortlisted North American airlines based on on-time performance, with 77.8% of arrivals and close to 77% of departures occurring as scheduled last year. In contrast, Delta Air Lines led the group with scores of 83.5% for arrivals and 83.7% for departures.
Over the past year, federal regulators have stepped up scrutiny of Southwest Airlines following a series of concerning incidents, such as the airline flying at significantly low altitudes while still miles from its destination. In July, the Federal Aviation Administration voiced its commitment to ensuring the carrier’s compliance with federal safety regulations but did not provide detailed information, noting its approach involves modifying oversight based on assessed risks.
