U.S. Sues Southwest Airlines for Chronic Delays on Two Routes, Seeks Maximum Penalties

Jan 15, 2025, 08:24 PM

The U.S. Department of Transportation has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines for allegedly operating flights with chronic delays, disrupting passengers' travel plans. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in California, targets two specific routes operated by Southwest between Chicago Midway International Airport and Oakland, California, and between Baltimore and Cleveland. These flights were reported to be chronically delayed for five consecutive months, resulting in 180 disruptions between April and August 2022. The Department is seeking maximum civil penalties from Southwest. In a related action, the Department fined Frontier Airlines $650,000 for similar issues, with half of the fine suspended if Frontier avoids further chronic delays for the next three years. Southwest Airlines expressed disappointment over the lawsuit, citing their operation of over 20 million flights with no other violations since 2009 and a 99% flight completion rate in 2024.