DOT Sues Southwest Airlines Over Chronically Delayed Flights

The lawsuit alleges Southwest operated two routes with persistent delays in 2022, disrupting passengers and violating federal regulations.

The Department of Transportation filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines for operating two flights deemed 'chronically delayed' between April and August 2022.
The affected routes—Chicago to Oakland and Baltimore to Cleveland—resulted in 180 flight disruptions, with Southwest responsible for over 90% of the delays.
The DOT defines a 'chronically delayed' flight as one flown at least 10 times a month and arriving more than 30 minutes late over 50% of the time for at least four consecutive months.
Southwest disputes the claims, citing its long-term operational record of over 20 million flights without other violations since 2009.
The DOT also fined Frontier Airlines $650,000 for similar delays, while JetBlue was penalized $2 million earlier this month for operating multiple chronically delayed flights.