U.S. Government Fines Frontier, Sues Southwest Over Chronically Delayed Flights

Two popular low-cost airlines are the latest to be held accountable by the U.S. government over chronically late flights.

Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines are both facing legal actions by the Department of Transportation for operating flight schedules the government says were notoriously late.

Frontier Airlines operated delayed flights between Atlanta and Phoenix, and Orlando and Houston over 63 times, and the airline will be responsible for a $650,000 civil penalty fine, with the opportunity for half of the fine to be waived if the airline doesn’t operate chronically delayed flights over the next three years, according to the consent order. 

The agency investigated Southwest Airlines and found two routes were delayed a total of 180 times over the span of five months, according to a news release, with the department pursuing civil penalties against the company.

“Airlines have a legal obligation to ensure that their flight schedules provide travelers with realistic departure and arrival times,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in the release. Today’s action sends a message to all airlines that the Department is prepared to go to court in order to enforce passenger protections.”

The agency has previously encouraged passengers affected by delays or cancellations to visit FlightRights.gov to identify potential resolutions and remedies for their circumstances.

For its part, Southwest Airlines says the delays happened in previous years and they have since updated their scheduling. 

“Southwest is disappointed that DOT chose to file a lawsuit over two flights that occurred more than two years ago,” a Southwest Airlines spokesperson shared with Travel + Leisure. “Since DOT issued its Chronically Delayed Flight (CDF) policy in 2009, Southwest has operated more than 20 million flights with no other CDF violations. Any claim that these two flights represent an unrealistic schedule is simply not credible when compared with our performance over the past 15 years.” 

The airline also added that throughout 2024, they maintained a 99% completion rates of flights without cancellation.

Frontier Airlines declined to comment when asked by T+L. 

The fine and lawsuit announced this week are the latest of actions by the Department of Transportation against airlines that operate chronically late flights. Earlier this month, JetBlue was fined $2 million for delayed flights, which included reimbursements to passengers