Current Events in January 2025

The winter storm spreading across the middle of the country Sunday brought its share of consumer headaches, starting with canceled airline flights. FlightAware, an airline tracking app, counted more than 1,800 canceled flights on Sunday and at least 8,500 delays

The most affected airports lay in a band from Kansas City to Washington, DC, but nearly all U.S. airports were affected in some way because of connecting flights. 

Passengers whose flights were canceled are entitled to a refund of their ticket, not just a voucher for future travel. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations, airlines are required to provide automatic cash refunds for canceled flights, regardless of the reason for the cancellation.

In late October, the Transportation Department strengthened its refund rule, requiring airlines to issue refunds “instantly” after canceling a flight.

“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them—without headaches or haggling,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg wrote in an October post on X. “Today, our automatic refund rule goes into full effect. Airlines are required to provide prompt cash refunds without passengers having to ask.”

Power outages

Even some people who weren’t traveling were affected by the storm. The Weather Channel reports more than 260,000 households were without electricity as of early Monday morning and at least three deaths had been attributed to the winter storm. 

People without power are reminded not to use gasoline generators or propane grills indoors since both give off lethal levels of carbon monoxide.

Chapman, Kan., and St. George, Kan., got socked with the heaviest snowfall east of the Rocky Mountains. The Weather Channel said both areas recorded at least 18 inches of snow.

The storm, accompanied by frigid temperatures, is expected to continue moving east throughout Monday and Tuesday this week.

Alcoholic beverages should have warnings that they cause cancer in an updated label, the U.S. Surgeon General said Friday.

Alcohol is the third-leading causing of cancer after tobacco and obesity and increases the risk of seven types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, throat and liver, the surgeon general said.

Still, awareness among the public about alcohol causing cancer falls behind tobacco and obesity.

“Alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States—greater than the 13,500 alcohol-associated traffic crash fatalities per year in the U.S.—yet the majority of Americans are unaware of this risk,” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said.

The risks of alcohol causing cancer are even higher among women. 

Less than one drink a week increases a women's cancer risk by nearly 17%, compared with 10% for men, according to a new report from the surgeon general.

Breast cancer from drinking alcohol is of particular concern to women: The risk of women developing breast cancer increases around 15% from two drinks a day, or 14 drinks a week.

Currently, the surgeon general's warning on alcohol states it "may cause health problems," which health advocates say grossly understates the risks.

"The science is clear: alcohol causes cancer," said Eva Greenthal, senior policy scientist at nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Yet, too many Americans remain in the dark about the significant link between alcohol and cancer."

For the label to change, Greenthal said the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the surgeon general must report to Congress on the need for an update.

"We urge [the Treasury] and Congress to act swiftly to promote a more informed public and prevent the 20,000 annual cancer deaths attributable to alcohol," she said.

JetBlue has been slapped with a $2 million fine for "chronic flight delays," the Department of Transport said Friday, marking the first time the government agency has fined an airline on the issue as it investigates other airlines.

The order requires JetBlue to "cease and desist" its chronic flight delays and half of the $2 million fine will go to JetBlue customers who suffered from the flight delays within the next year, while the other half goes to the U.S. Treasury, the Transport Department said.

JetBlue ran four flight flights between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Raleigh-Durham that were often delayed for five months straight in a row, or longer, at least 145 times between June 2022 through Nov. 2023, the Transport Department said. 

Despite warnings, the Transport Department said JetBlue continued to operate more "chronically delayed" flights between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando and JFK, and between Fort Lauderdale and Windsor Locks.

A spokesperson for JetBlue told ConsumerAffairs that it has invested "tens of millions of dollars" to prevent flight delays over the past couple years, but a big reason there are delays is poor air traffic control.

"The U.S. should have the safest, most efficient, and advanced air traffic control system in the world, and we urge the incoming administration to prioritize modernizing outdated ATC technology and addressing chronic air traffic controller staffing shortages to reduce ATC delays that affect millions of air travelers each year," the JetBlue spokesperson said.

Are more airlines going to be fined for delaying flights?

This will likely not be the last time an airline will be fined for delays since the Transport Department said it is "has ongoing investigations into other airlines for unrealistic flight schedules."

“The department will enforce the law against airlines with chronic delays or unrealistic scheduling practices in order to protect healthy competition and ensure passengers are treated fairly," said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who leaves office in weeks.

Still, it remains unclear how the incoming Trump administration will take up the issue.

'A long time coming' for JetBlue

JetBlue has long been among the airlines with the highest shares of passenger complaints, cancellation rates and worst on-time rates, said Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director at nonprofit U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

“This is the kind of wake-up call that’s a long time coming," she said. "The chronically delayed flights are just one part of a bigger problem."

Murray said the Transport Department should also start scrutinizing flights that are canceled more than seven days before departure.

“They’re considered 'discontinued,' not canceled, and aren’t tracked by [the Transport Department]," she said. "Yet this can be a huge problem for travelers if they have to scramble to rebook.”

It was a record year for air travel in 2024 and airlines had to scramble to keep up with the demand and operate at maximum efficiency. In it annual review, Cirium reports that Aeromexico had the best on-time performance last year, with 86.7% of its flights on time.

Saudia had the second-best rating at 86.35%, while Delta Air Lines secured third place with 83.46%.

Cirium also handed out five regional awards. Iberia Express was the most on-time airline in Europe, as well as the most On-Time Low-Cost airline globally. Japan Airlines was number one in the Asia-Pacific region, edging out All Nippon Airways.

Delta was number one in North America, while Copa Airlines had the best record in Latin America. FlySafair also won most on-time airline in the Middle East and Africa. 

As far as the best airports are concerned, Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport was number one in the Global Airport category, with nearly 87% of its flights leaving on time. Cirium said the Middle Eastern hub scored a victory in the “Large Airport” category.

Among “Medium Airports,”  Panama’s Tocumen International Airport took top honors. Ecuador’s  Guayaquil Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport was named the best in the Small Airport category.