Transportation Department Takes Action Against Southwest and Frontier Airlines for Flight Delays

The U.S. Transportation Department has increased its enforcement efforts regarding ongoing flight delays by filing a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines and imposing a civil penalty on Frontier Airlines. The lawsuit, which was initiated in a California district court, accuses Southwest Airlines of operating flights that were consistently delayed, hence affecting passengers' travel itineraries. The department is pursuing severe civil penalties for this alleged violation.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized that airlines must provide travelers with accurate departure and arrival times. He stated that the department's actions are a clear indication of its readiness to go to court if necessary to ensure passenger rights are upheld.

An investigation by the Transportation Department uncovered that Southwest operated two specific flights that were chronically delayed over a five-month period, leading to 180 disruptions for passengers from April to August of the previous year. The problematic routes included a flight from Chicago Midway International Airport to Oakland, California, and another from Baltimore, Maryland, to Cleveland, Ohio.

In response, Southwest Airlines expressed disappointment, indicating that the agency's focus on flights from over two years ago did not reflect its overall performance history. The airline noted that since the introduction of the Chronically Delayed Flight (CDF) policy in 2009, it has successfully operated over 20 million flights without further violations. Southwest also claimed to have achieved a high completion rate in 2024, completing more than 99% of its flights without cancellations.

Furthermore, Frontier Airlines faced a civil penalty of $650,000, of which half will be paid to the U.S. Treasury, while the remainder will be suspended contingent on the airline's performance regarding chronic delays in the coming three years. The airline, based in Denver, has not provided a comment on the fine.

This recent action follows another fine against JetBlue, which was penalized $2 million for chronic delays attributed to "unrealistic scheduling." JetBlue claimed that the government shares the blame for these issues, given its role in operating the air traffic control system.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium reported Southwest's performance metrics, revealing that the airline ranked fifth among ten evaluated North American airlines last year. It achieved 77.8% of on-time arrivals and just under 77% for departures, while the leading airline, Delta Air Lines, managed scores of 83.5% for arrivals and 83.7% for departures.

In the previous year, federal regulators heightened their scrutiny of Southwest Airlines due to various incidents, including low-altitude flights well before reaching airports. The Federal Aviation Administration has indicated its aim to ensure the airline complies with federal safety regulations, although specific details about ongoing oversight adjustments have not been disclosed.