CNN
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The Department of Transportation is suing Southwest Airlines, accusing it of operating two “chronically delayed flights” in 2022 that resulted in 180 flight interruptions.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, “seeks maximum civil penalties,” according to a DOT press release.
It alleges the Dallas-based airline is harming passengers and fair competition across the industry after an investigation found Southwest operated the two chronically delayed flights – one between Chicago Midway and Oakland, in California, and the other between Baltimore and Cleveland.
The 180 disruptions occurred between April and August 2022, the same year Southwest experienced its most chaotic crisis in the airline’s more than 50-year history. Every flight on these routes has been delayed for five consecutive months.
According to Bureau of Transportation Statistics data submitted to the DOT by Southwest, the airline was responsible for more than 90 percent of the disruptions.
Outgoing Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement that the lawsuit is part of the department’s commitment to supporting passengers’ rights. The lawsuit alleges that Southwest failed to fix its schedule to avoid delays.
Under DOT rules, a flight is considered “chronically delayed” if it operates at least 10 times per month and arrives late more than 50 percent of the time. Cancellations and diversions are also included as delays in the ministry’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 ministry is prepared to take legal action to enforce passenger protections. »
Southwest experienced one of the most notable passenger disruptions in late 2022, when thousands of passengers were displaced over the Christmas holiday after outdated technology destroyed the carrier’s crew schedule and coupled to severe winter storms.
A Southwest spokesperson said he was “disappointed” that the department took legal action over the flights more than two years ago. The airline said it has completed more than 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 without any further CDF violations,” Southwest said in a statement. “Any assertion that these two flights represent an unrealistic timetable is simply not credible when compared to our performance over the past 15 years.”
Southwest is already facing more challenges this week, as the airline moved to implement more cost-cutting measures.
The airline suspended corporate recruiting and promotions, some summer internships and even employee gatherings that dated back to its earliest years of flying. The airline had an activist investor challenge it all summer to drive change, but it reached a deal with Elliott Investment Management in October.
The DOT is also imposing a $650,000 civil penalty on low-cost airline Frontier Airlines for delays. Of that fine, $325,000 will be paid to the U.S. Treasury and the remaining $325,000 will be suspended if the carrier does not operate chronically delayed flights within the next three years.
Earlier this month, the department penalized JetBlue Airways $2 million for flight delays. The DOT found that JetBlue operated four chronically delayed flights at least 145 times between June 2022 and November 2023, with each flight delayed for five consecutive months or more.
