Under the penalty, JetBlue must pay $1 million to the U.S. Treasury and use the remaining $1 million to compensate impacted passengers, the DOT says. Customers will receive at least $75 if they experience any future JetBlue delays of three hours or more within the next year.

The Transportation Department’s first ever penalty for chronic delays takes aim at four routes that consistently arrived late for five consecutive months.

JetBlue is getting hit with a $2 million penalty for chronically late flights. The Transportation Department said Friday that half the money will go to passengers who were delayed on flights along four routes on the East Coast between summer 2022 and late 2023.

The Department of Transportation said its $2 million fine against JetBlue was the first of its kind for chronically delayed flights.

The fines levied by the USDOT represented the first time ever that an airline, major or minor, has been penalized for chronic delays. Half of the $2 million fine will go towards reimbursing customers affected by delays at JetBlue.

"Today's action puts the entire airline industry on notice that we expect their flight schedules to reflect reality..."

JetBlue has agreed to pay $2 million after federal regulators charged the U.S. airline with operating multiple chronically delayed flight routes, marking the first time the Department of Transportation fined an air carrier over its scheduling practices.

The U.S. Transportation Department imposed a US$2 million penalty on JetBlue Airways for operating four chronically delayed flights on domestic routes - the first time it has imposed such a fine on an airline for the prohibited scheduling practice.

The fine, handed down by the Department of Transportation (DOT), is the first of its kind, and comes after federal regulators charged the JetBlue with operating multiple chronically delayed flight routes from June 2022 through November 2023.