Washington: The U.S. Department of Justice has officially dropped its lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, which accused the carrier of illegally operating chronically delayed flights. The suit was initially filed by the Biden administration during its final days and stemmed from allegations of Southwest running unrealistic flight schedules.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) had filed the complaint in January, seeking maximum civil penalties against the airline. According to the department, Southwest operated two chronically delayed routes for five consecutive months in 2022 — one between Chicago Midway and Oakland, California, and another between Baltimore and Cleveland.
In response to the decision, Southwest Airlines welcomed the dismissal of the lawsuit.
“The two flights at issue occurred years ago when the industry faced unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and were delayed due to issues outside of Southwest’s control in numerous cases,” the airline said in a statement.
USDOT has not yet issued a comment regarding the withdrawal.
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This development follows a broader crackdown by the Biden administration on chronically delayed flights. In January, the USDOT fined Frontier Airlines $650,000 for multiple violations related to excessive delays. Of the total, Frontier paid $325,000 immediately and will pay the remaining amount only if it operates any chronically delayed flights over the next three years.
Southwest previously noted that it has conducted over 20 million flights since 2009 without further violations. Under USDOT guidelines, a flight is deemed “chronically delayed” if it is flown at least ten times a month and arrives more than 30 minutes late at least 50% of the time.
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In a separate settlement, Southwest agreed in December 2023 to issue $90 million in travel vouchers — valued at $75 or more each — to compensate passengers who experienced delays of at least three hours due to airline-related issues or cancellations. The agreement was tied to the airline’s operational collapse during the 2022 holiday season.
Additionally, JetBlue Airways faced penalties in January for similar issues. The USDOT levied a $2 million fine for operating four chronically delayed domestic flights. JetBlue agreed to pay $1 million and provide travel vouchers of at least $75 to passengers affected by flight cancellations or long delays in the future.
