DOJ Drops Chronically Delayed Flight Lawsuit Against Southwest Airlines

The U.S. Department of Justice has dropped a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) that accused the carrier of operating chronically delayed flights, marking a shift from actions taken earlier by the Biden administration. Filed by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) in January, the lawsuit alleged Southwest scheduled unrealistic flights in violation of federal rules, seeking maximum civil penalties.

The complaint specifically cited two routes in 2022—Chicago Midway to Oakland and Baltimore to Cleveland—as chronically delayed under USDOT standards, which define such flights as arriving more than 30 minutes late at least 50% of the time for a minimum of 10 monthly occurrences. Southwest responded by stating the delays occurred during a time of unprecedented industry-wide challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were largely outside the airline's control.

Southwest welcomed the decision to dismiss the case, highlighting that it had operated over 20 million flights since 2009 without similar violations. The USDOT did not issue a comment on the decision.

This case follows recent regulatory actions targeting flight delays. In January, Frontier Airlines was fined $650,000—half payable immediately—for multiple chronically delayed flights. JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ:JBLU) also faced a $2 million penalty for four similar violations and was required to offer affected passengers at least $75 in vouchers.

In a separate 2023 settlement, Southwest agreed to provide $90 million in travel vouchers to customers delayed by three hours or more due to airline-related issues, stemming from the airline’s 2022 holiday service disruptions.

These enforcement actions reflect ongoing federal efforts to penalize carriers for poor scheduling practices and improve airline accountability amid rising consumer concerns over flight reliability.