The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is suing Southwest Airlines for two “chronically delayed” flights in 2022, which caused 180 flight disruptions. The lawsuit is a way to continue to reinforce rules about flight delays, following the DOT policy against chronic flight delays. The US District Court for the Northern District of California filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, seeking maximum civil penalties.
The lawsuit against Southwest Airlines
The Department of Transportation defines a “chronically delayed” flight as one that operates at least 10 times a month and arrives at least 30 minutes late more than 50% of the time. The DOT accuses Southwest of having operated 2 delayed flight routes in 2022—one between Baltimore and Cleveland and one between Chicago Midway and Oakland, California. The consistent delays caused 180 disruptions in flights between April and August 2022.
The Department of Transportation (DOT) asserts that chronic delays, specifically those caused by Southwest Airlines, are causing harm to passengers. Flight delays don’t just inconvenience passengers; they can also have serious consequences: passengers missing connecting flights, disruption of plans, and emotional stress. For these reasons, the DOT is cracking down on airlines, enforcing their rules. The DOT recently fined JetBlue $2 million for the same issue and is also fining Frontier concurrently with Southwest.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg commented on the lawsuit, saying
Airlines have a legal obligation to ensure that their flight schedules provide travellers with realistic departure and arrival times. 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 Airlines Response
Southwest Airlines has released a statement claiming to be ‘disappointed’ over the lawsuit, based on two flights that occurred over 2 years ago. The airline believes that the two flights do not represent an unrealistic schedule, given their usual on-time performance, stating that:
In 2024, Southwest led the industry by completing more than 99% of its flights without cancellation.
Since the Transportation Department enacted its policy on flight delays in 2009, Southwest has operated 20 million flights without any other violations. In a recent report from Cirium, Southwest ranked amongst the top leading U.S. airlines for their punctuality, with 77.77% on-time arrivals.
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