Trump Filed $2.1 Million Lawsuit Over Flight Delays

A flight is classified as “chronically delayed” if it arrives more than 30 minutes late over half the time for over five months.

DALLAS- The Trump administration has officially dropped a $2.1 million lawsuit against Southwest Airlines (WN) regarding chronically delayed flights.

The case, filed by the US Department of Transportation (DOT) at the San Francisco (SFO) district court in January 2025, accused the Dallas Love Field-based carrier (DAL) of operating persistently delayed routes over several months.

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Southwest Lawsuit Over Delayed Flights
In January 2025, the Department of Transportation (DoT) sued Southwest Airlines (WN) for failing to maintain on-time performance.

According to PYOK, the agency accused the Dallas-based carrier of operating multiple “chronically delayed” flights between key US airports from 2022 onward.

A flight is classified as “chronically delayed” if it arrives more than 30 minutes late over half the time for over five months.

This standard applies regardless of the cause, weather, air traffic control, or internal mismanagement.

The department argued that Southwest engaged in “unrealistic scheduling,” harming thousands of passengers.

Other airlines, like JetBlue (B6) and Frontier Airlines (F9), had previously settled similar cases.JetBlue agreed to pay $2 million, while Frontier paid $650,000 in fines and compensation without going to court.Why the Case Was Dropped
On the filing’s dismissal date, the DOT’s legal team informed the San Francisco court that the case against Southwest would no longer proceed.

However, no official explanation was given for the decision. There were no public filings indicating a consent agreement between Southwest and the DOT.Southwest had requested and received an extension to formally respond to the lawsuit, which gave them additional time before submitting their defense.

As of the dismissal, the airline had not issued a formal statement regarding the matter.