WASHINGTON (WNDU) - Pete Buttigieg is about to end his latest gig. This coming Monday, the former South Bend mayor will also become the former secretary of transportation. As a Biden appointee, he will be replaced as the president leaves office.

Mayor Pete, the outgoing transportation secretary, will be hitting the friendly skies, using his Christmas gift and making up for some lost time.

Some JetBlue passengers who experienced bad delays ... make flying unreliable for travelers," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Friday in a statement. "Today's action puts the airline ...

For the first time, the U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) is penalizing a U.S. airline for “chronic flight delays,” assessing a $2 million penalty against JetBlue Airways for infractions it says occurred in 2022 and 2023.

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.

JetBlue Airways is facing a $2 million penalty from the U.S. Transportation Department for repeated flight delays along the East Coast

US carrier JetBlue has been fined $2 million by the US DOT for consistently operating ‘chronically delayed flights’

The foundering airline could have prevented chronic delays on dozens of flights in and out of Fort Lauderdale airport, the Biden administration said.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said airlines have a legal obligation to ensure that their schedules list realistic departure and arrival times.

Having assessed a first-of-its-kind fine for “chronic flight delays” against JetBlue Airways, federal regulators have now moved to penalize both Southwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines for similar infractions.

The Department of Transportation and Department of Justice jointly filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Southwest Airlines for operating "chronically delayed flights" that caused disruptions to passengers.

The Department of Transportation found that Southwest was responsible for 90% of the disruptions on two flights.