American Airlines has agreed to a record $50 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Transportation for violating laws that protect airline passengers with disabilities.
In an investigation into the airline, the Department of Transportation said it had uncovered numerous violations, including cases in which Americans provided “unsafe physical assistance” to passengers. The alleged treatment “sometimes resulted in injuries and substandard treatment of wheelchair users,” the agency said in an announcement Wednesday.
The agency also accused American of mishandling or damaging thousands of passengers’ wheelchairs between 2019 and 2023, leaving them without their mobility aids.
“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement on Wednesday. “With this fine, we are establishing 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 want to change how the industry behaves and prevent this type of abuse from happening in the first place,” he said.
The airline came under public fire for a Video from 2023 showing crew members mishandling a passenger’s wheelchair. The video, which has been viewed millions of times on social media, shows a baggage handler steering a wheelchair down a ramp.
The number of complaints about disability is increasing
The Transportation Department has drafted a Bill of Rights for Air Passengers with Disabilities in 2022. Current federal regulations require airlines to:
- Please return passengers’ wheelchairs and mobility aids in a timely manner and in the condition in which they were received.
- Help passengers with disabilities board and disembark the plane and move around the airport.
While incidents of airlines mistreating customers with disabilities are not unique to America, Transportation Department regulators found that the airline was “one of the worst performing airlines among U.S. airlines, both in terms of the total number of claims for misuse of wheelchairs and scooters and the number of cases of misuse of wheelchairs and scooters. mishandling of claims,” the announcement said.
“The problems we uncovered in our investigation are not limited to one airline,” Buttigieg said in a call with reporters. “We have other active investigations into a number of U.S. airlines for similar violations.”
“We believe today’s action sends a clear message to the aviation industry that they must improve their operations and compliance with the law to ensure that all passengers fly with the dignity, respect and safety to which they are entitled as earning,” he said. added.
The number of complaints about disability increased by more than a quarter last year compared to 2022. The Ministry of Transport reported this in July.
Despite their desire to travel by plane, many disabled Americans forego air travel for fear of not being adequately accommodated by airlines, according to an April survey from the Century Foundation.
American Airlines must pay record fine
Under the settlement, American Airlines will pay a $25 million fine to the U.S. Treasury Department. The remaining $25 million will be invested in airline equipment to reduce wheelchair damage incidents and a wheelchair marking system designed to better track mobility devices. In addition, the funds will go toward compensating passengers whose rights the agency believes were violated between 2019 and 2023.
American said it is committed to improving the travel experience for customers who use wheelchairs and other mobility devices. For example, the company has installed wheelchair lifts at more than 20 stations, including at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in Texas, two of America’s largest hubs.
According to the airline, the misuse rate of all mobility aids on U.S. flights through September had fallen 36% over the past two years.
“Today’s agreement reaffirms American’s commitment to taking care of all of our customers,” Julie Rath, America’s senior vice president of airport operations, reservations and service recovery, said in a statement Wednesday.
