The DOT filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, citing a pattern of chronic delays, as the government pushes for stricter accountability.

This "sends a message to all airlines" that DOT will go to court in order "to enforce passenger protections," Pete Buttigieg said.

The lawsuit filed in California alleges that Southwest illegally operated chronically delayed flights and disrupted passengers’ travel plans.

In anticipation of the coming U.S. TikTok ban, which will go through on Sunday unless paused by the Supreme Court, users have been fleeing to other video platforms, including the Chinese app RedNote. The AT Protocol is a newer, open protocol designed for decentralized social media applications.

Southwest is disappointed that DOT chose to file a lawsuit over two flights that occurred more than two years ago," a spokesperson for the airline said.

Southwest Airlines stock fell Thursday after the Department of Transportation sued the airline over a pair of "chronically delayed flights."

The Transportation Department continues its battle against chronically delayed flights with new actions against Southwest, featuring a Bay Area route.

The Department of Transportation is suing Southwest Airlines, accusing it of operating two “chronically delayed flights” in 2022 that resulted in 180 flight disruptions.

The US Department of Transportation sued Southwest Airlines and fined Frontier Airlines for flight delays, seeking civil penalties against Southwest and imposing a $650,000 fine on Frontier, part of a broader crackdown on airline delay issues.