DOT sues Southwest Airlines over 2 ‘chronically delayed’ flight routes
By Alexandra Skores, CNN
(CNN) — The Department of Transportation is suing Southwest Airlines, accusing it of operating two “chronically delayed flights” in 2022 that resulted in 180 flight disruptions.
The lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday, “seeks maximum civil penalties,” according to a DOT news release.
It alleges the Dallas-based airline is harming passengers and fair competition across the industry after an investigation discovered Southwest operated the two chronically delayed flights — one between Chicago Midway and Oakland, California, and one between Baltimore and Cleveland.
The 180 disruptions occurred between April and August 2022, the same year Southwest had its most chaotic meltdown in the airline’s over 50-year history. Each flight on the routes was delayed for five straight months.
According to Bureau of Transportation Statistics data submitted to the DOT by Southwest, the airline was responsible for over 90% of the disruptions.
Outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement that the lawsuit is a part of the department’s commitment to supporting passenger rights. The lawsuit alleges Southwest failed to fix its schedule to avoid the delays.
What is ‘chronically delayed’?
Under DOT rules, a flight is considered “chronically delayed” if it is flown at least 10 times a month and arrives late more than 50% of the time. Cancellations and diversions are also included as delays within the department’s calculation.
“Airlines have a legal obligation to ensure that their flight schedules provide travelers with realistic departure and arrival times,” Buttigieg said in a statement. “Today’s action sends a message to all airlines that the Department is prepared to go to court in order to enforce passenger protections.”
Southwest had one of the most notable passenger disruptions at the end of 2022, when thousands of passengers were displaced over the Christmas holiday after outdated technology wrecked the carrier’s crew scheduling and coupled with heavy winter storms.
A spokesperson for Southwest said it was “disappointed” the department filed suit on the flights from over two years ago. The airline said it completed over 99% of its flights without cancellation in 2024.
“Since DOT issued its Chronically Delayed Flight policy in 2009, Southwest has operated more than 20 million flights with no other CDF violations,” Southwest said in a statement. “Any claim that these two flights represent an unrealistic schedule is simply not credible when compared with our performance over the past 15 years.”
Southwest is already dealing with other challenges this week, as the airline decided to implement more cost-cutting measures.
The airline paused corporate hiring and promotions, some summer internships and even employee rallies that date back to its earliest years of flying. The airline had an activist investor challenge it all summer to ignite change, but settled with Elliott Investment Management in October.
DOT fines on other airlines
The DOT is also fining $650,000 in civil penalties to budget carrier Frontier Airlines for delays. Of that fine, $325,000 will be paid to the US Treasury and the remaining $325,000 will be suspended if the carrier does not operate any chronically delayed flights in the next three years.
Earlier this month, the department penalized JetBlue Airways $2 million for flight delays. The DOT found JetBlue to have operated four chronically delayed flights at least 145 times between June 2022 through November 2023, with each flight delayed for five months in a row or more.
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