American Airlines to pay record $50 million fine over its treatment of disabled passengers

Source: CBS News

Updated on: October 23, 2024 / 8:12 AM EDT


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 carrier, the Transportation Department said it uncovered numerous infractions, including cases of American providing "unsafe physical assistance" to passengers. The alleged treatment "at times resulted in injuries and undignified treatment of wheelchair users," the agency said in an announcement Wednesday.

The agency also accused American of mishandling or damaging thousands of passengers' wheelchairs from 2019 to 2023, leaving them without their mobility devices.

"The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement Wednesday. "With this penalty, we are setting a new standard of accountability for airlines that violate the civil rights of passengers with disabilities. By setting penalties at levels beyond the mere cost of doing business for airlines, we're aiming to change how the industry behaves and prevent these kinds of abuses from happening in the first place," he said.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-airlines-50-million-fine-settlement-passengers-with-disabilities/