EGN NEWS DESK
The Transportation Department introduced on Friday a $2 million penalty in opposition to JetBlue Airways for working a number of flights on the East Coast that chronically arrived late in 2022 and 2023. Half of the cash collected will go to the impacted passengers.
The penalty is the primary time that the D.O.T. has fined an airline for power delays, which the federal company defines as flights which are flown a minimum of 10 occasions a month that arrive greater than a half-hour late greater than 50 % of the time.
“Illegal power flight delays make flying unreliable for vacationers. Today’s motion places your entire airline business on discover that we count on their flight schedules to replicate actuality,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated in a press release.
The D.O.T. stated it had warned JetBlue about persistent delays on its flights between Kennedy International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina. It added that carriers have a “obligation to keep away from power delays” and that these flights for months was unfair and misleading.
The 4 routes below scrutiny flew between J.F.Okay. and Raleigh-Durham Airport; J.F.Okay. and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida; J.F.Okay. and Orlando International Airport; and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport and Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. Between June 2022 and November 2023, the flights had been chronically delayed 5 months in a row. More than 70 % of the disruptions for these flights had been attributable to the airline, in response to estimates from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
“The division will implement the legislation in opposition to airways with power delays or different unrealistic scheduling practices with a view to defend wholesome competitors in business aviation and guarantee passengers are handled pretty,” Mr. Buttigieg stated.
Derek Dombrowski, a spokesman for JetBlue, stated in a press release that the airline had invested tens of thousands and thousands of {dollars} to scale back flight delays during the last two years and had seen “vital operational enhancements.” Mr. Dombrowski additionally stated that air site visitors management points had contributed to the airline’s operational challenges within the Northeast and Florida.
Last week, JetBlue made headlines when a flight from Turks and Caicos sure for Boston was delayed greater than 24 hours, stranding passengers with no lodging.
From January to September of final 12 months, about 71 % of JetBlue’s flights had been on time, in response to knowledge from the Transportation Department, and the service was ranked second to final in on-time efficiency of the biggest 10 home airways (Frontier Airlines was in final place). During this similar time interval, greater than 9 % of JetBlue’s flights had been delays attributable to the airline, in response to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
