USDOT Drops Lawsuit Against Southwest Airlines Over Delayed Flights

The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped its lawsuit against Southwest Airlines. Filed by the Biden administration, the suit accused the airline of flying chronically delayed flights, seeking maximum civil penalties. Southwest welcomed the decision, attributing delays to the unprecedented challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Transportation initially alleged that in 2022, Southwest had two notably delayed routes: Chicago Midway to Oakland and Baltimore to Cleveland. Frontier Airlines faced similar scrutiny, receiving a $650,000 fine for chronically delayed flights. USDOT settled with Southwest after the airline agreed to offer travel vouchers due to a holiday service meltdown in December 2022.

Under USDOT's criteria, a flight is deemed chronically delayed if it is late more than 30 minutes in over 50% of its journeys. These legal matters highlight increasing regulatory scrutiny on airlines to maintain accurate flight schedules and improve passenger experiences.

(With inputs from agencies.)