The Department of Transportation on Wednesday fined American Airlines $50 million for mistreating passengers with disabilities.
According to the DOT, between 2019 and 2023, American had the worst track record among major U.S. airlines for damaging wheelchairs and other mobility devices, and also performed poorly in providing prompt wheelchair assistance and dignified transfers for passengers with disabilities. One incident highlighted by the DOT was a November 2023 episode in which U.S. baggage handlers dropped a wheelchair down a baggage ramp.
“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over,” DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “With this fine, we are setting a new standard of liability for airlines that violate the civil rights of passengers with disabilities. By imposing fines that go beyond the cost of doing business for airlines, we aim to change the way the industry behaves and prevent this type of abuse in the first place.”
Paralyzed Veterans of America, which the Department of Transportation said was responsible for three of the investigated complaints against Americans, praised the DOT’s ruling.
“We are pleased to see DOT making such a strong statement about how it will hold airlines accountable for endangering the well-being of passengers with disabilities, especially wheelchair and scooter users. We are confident that this unprecedented enforcement will make it clear to the entire aviation industry that passengers with mobility disabilities deserve to travel with the same level of safety and dignity as everyone else,” said Carl Blake, CEO of PVA, in a statement.
American Airlines acknowledged the fine and said it is committed to improvement. In fact, it noted that it has been ramping up investments in accessibility long before the DOT issued its fine.
“This year, American has invested more than $175 million in service, infrastructure and training to improve the travel experience for customers traveling with wheelchairs or other mobility devices,” said Julie Rath, American’s Senior Vice President of Airport Operations, Reservations and Service Recovery, in a position. “Today’s agreement reaffirms American’s commitment to taking care of all of our customers.”
The airline highlighted that wheelchair misuse incidents improved by 22% between September 2022 and September 2024. The investments include the ability for customers to have a wheelchair tag automatically generated instead of relying on handwritten documentation for controlled mobility devices. The airline is also investing in better equipment for handling mobility aids at many of its airports and in improved training for its team members who handle mobility aids and interact with passengers with disabilities. Many advocates have said that improved and more intensive training is an important step for airlines.
“When you get down to it, we want our customers to feel 100% cared for throughout their journey,” Rath told USA TODAY in an interview. “We are focused on getting better and better. We will not stop until we have zero wheelchair incidents.”
The DOT said it has ongoing investigations into similar problems at other airlines, but officials did not indicate when they would be completed or what fines could result.
How common is wheelchair damage on airplanes?
U.S. airlines typically damage 10,000 to 15,000 wheelchairs per year, and while that amounts to less than 1.5% of the total mobility devices they carry, it is a major problem for affected travelers.
“If you need a certain type of wheelchair equipment and the airline damages or destroys your wheelchair, it not only ruins your trip, but it can have repercussions at home after your trip ends, in some cases for weeks or worse,” Buttigieg said. said during a news conference announcing the fine.
Over the course of 2023, USA TODAY spoke with more than 30 travelers whose mobility devices were damaged or destroyed by U.S. airlines. Many said the wait for repairs or replacements took months, often leaving them homebound in the meantime.
One affected traveler said the wheelchair damage resulted in him having to stay home from work for two weeks. “Two weeks of work is eating out of my children’s mouths,” they said.
Many affected travelers also said that having their wheelchairs damaged would be like having their legs broken by an airline while traveling, and said it would obviously be unacceptable if travelers who were not wheelchair dependent were left with no chance of 1.5% had to lose their mobility after an accident. flight.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York. You can reach him at zwicher@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: American Airlines fined $50 million for wheelchair damage
