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/
U.S. Department of Transportation PRESS RELEASE - DOT Issues Landmark $50 Million Penalty Against American Airlines for Its Treatment of Passengers with Disabilities
Mr.Bill
(24,694 posts)when she gets home from her Doctor's appointment. About ten years ago she was treated very badly by American Airlines at LAX. She had broken her ankle in Washington DC and had been issued a wheelchair. He plane arrived late at LAX and she missed her connection to SFO, forcing her to spend several hours overnight at LAX.
At midnight they took her wheelchair away and locked it up. She asked how she was going to use the restroom which was around 50 yards away. She had no crutches. They told her to crawl. They told her the same thing the next morning when she tried to board the plane with the wheelchair.
She reported the whole incident to American Airlines. She had the names of everyone she had a bad experience with. The said they investigated the whole thing and found it never happened.
BumRushDaShow
(140,282 posts)but at least this shows that she wasn't alone. As part of a consent decree, unfortunately it only goes back to 2019 and forward and those impacted during that period are due to be compensated as well, but they are on the "it" list now.
Mr.Bill
(24,694 posts)She was not seeking financial assistance, rather she was seeking steps being taken to see it does not happen again. She will see this as validation.
littlemissmartypants
(24,835 posts)Wonder Why
(4,506 posts)long distance service, their attitude and unwillingness to look outside the box for the elderly and disabled is atrocious.
CountAllVotes
(21,020 posts)The last time I went anywhere via air was in 2012.
It was a long trip (from Hungary to San Francisco r/t).
When I got to the departure airport in Munich (stopover) there was a long delay, very long, overnight due to mechanical problems with the airplane (!).
We were put up at a Sheridan hotel and given a 30 EU voucher for food. That was enough to buy 1/2 of a sandwich and a drink, nothing more.
I finally arrived at SFO and the connecting flight home was overbooked so no flight for me! The plan was to leave me sitting in a wheelchair overnight in the airport's lobby!
I complained bitterly and finally, after being told there were no hotel rooms available anywhere near SFO, I was taken to Oakland and put up there with no food.
I finally got home two days later exhausted and starved after all of these delays. I went after UNITED airlines for overbooking that last flight.
On this last flight, I was so exhausted and weak that I could not walk off of the airplane and they had to get a ramp to wheel me off of the plane. I could tell that the other passengers on the airplane were annoyed as they had to wait for me to get off of the airplane. Oh well, sorry!
I finally got some of my money back being I had traveled on my EU passport, I found out there is a rule when traveling with an EU passport like I was doing and that is that if you are delayed the way I was, they had to refund me 600 EU of that flight from Hungary to SFO via Lufthansa .
I heard them announcing in Munich to put your tickets away. When I heard, that, I had a person nearby snap a picture of my ticket! That was a very smart thing to do as I needed the ticket number to file a claim!
Who would have thought?
That nasty man at the desk in SFO that worked for United airlines claimed I cursed at him, etc. I did no such thing, I was too exhausted to do that.
I arrived home in very bad shape and was bedridden for over a week. I gave up traveling after that as it just was not worth it, nope!
I hope some day these airlines get their act together as this was not an isolated event.
I had an equally horrible time when I traveled to Ireland in 2006 via London. On that trip I had pre-arranged wheelchairs and an attendant to meet me and the man that finally showed up began calling me a "lazy Yank" that had nothing wrong.
I had to fend for myself with my luggage with me which was quite a load for a three week stay in Ireland. I arrived at my destination in Ireland all battered and bruised up from carrying my luggage that kept hitting against me. What a fine mess I was, and no, I dared to not go swimming at the hotel I was staying at in Donegal, as I looked (and felt like) I had been beat-up!
I learned the hard way, airlines don't give a shit about disabled travelers and if you are like me, a person that has a very serious disability that is incurable, no one really cares, esp. if it is not obvious.