JetBlue slapped with unprecedented $2 million fine over flight delays. You could get a cut.

• The US Department of Transportation has hit JetBlue with a $2 million fine for delayed flights.
• The DOT called the unrealistic flight schedules deceptive and anticompetitive.
• Half of the $2 million fine will be to compensate JetBlue customers.

JetBlue Airways was fined $2 million by the Department of Transportation, the agency said Friday, for operating chronically delayed flights.

The first-of-its-kind penalty follows a DOT investigation that found JetBlue promised its customers unrealistic schedules that did not reflect actual flight departure and arrival times on four routes between its New York and Florida bases, and destinations in North Carolina and Connecticut. The agency called this practice a "deceptive and anticompetitive" way to unfairly generate business by misleading customers.

The DOT also said it is looking into similar practices by other carriers but did not go into specifics.

In recent years, many airlines have resorted to padding their flight schedules with additional time buffers to give their crews extra leeway absorb weather, mechanical, ATC, or airport congestion issues and still arrive on time.

Half the $2 million will be paid in cash to the US Treasury, and the other half will be set aside as compensation for JetBlue passengers harmed by future delayed flights. Compensation and vouchers for each affected passenger must be valued at at least $75.

Just 74.5% of JetBlue flights managed to stay on schedule last year, according to the latest data from Cirium. That puts it behind all major US competitors. Only Frontier had a lower on-time percentage.

JetBlue said the government should upgrade the nation's air traffic control system to increase reliability for all flights.

"We appreciate how important it is to our customers to arrive to their destinations on-time and work very hard to operate our flights as schedule," the airline said. "While we've reached a settlement to resolve this matter regarding four flights in 2022 and 2023, we believe accountability for reliable air travel equally lies with the U.S. government, which operates our nation's air traffic control system."

The US is experiencing a shortage of air traffic controllers, which has limited its ability to handle high traffic flows. This has resulted in heavy delays during the holiday travel and summer vacation seasons. United Airlines recently claimed that 343,000 of its customers were negatively affected in November by delays caused by air traffic controller shortages at its Newark Liberty International Airport Hub.

Shares of JetBlue fell about 2% in trading Friday morning.