US Government Issues $300,000 Fine to Japan Airlines for Delays

The United States government has issued a $300,000 fine to Japan Airlines for two delays that left passengers stranded for hours.

According to airlines-300-000-over-long-flight-delays” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>Japan Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation reached an agreement on the fine with Japan Airlines, which included the carrier receiving a $60,000 credit for already compensating passengers impacted by two delays earlier this year.

On May 15, a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo to New York City was diverted to Washington D.C. Once the plane was safely on the tarmac, the need to refuel and confusion about crew members reaching the end of their shift led to passengers being stuck inside the cabin for five hours.

A similar incident took place on January 4 when a Tokyo-NYC flight was forced to land in Chicago, leaving passengers stranded for four hours due to a lack of Japan Airlines staff members.

As part of the agreement, the U.S. government will waive $120,000 of the fine if the carrier can avoid similar problems throughout the next year. In response, Japan Airlines said the delays were a result of “weather-related airport congestion.”