Lufthansa fined $4 million for denying boarding to 128 Jewish passengers

Source: Washington Post

October 15, 2024 at 11:46 a.m. EDT


U.S. authorities imposed a $4 million fine on German airline Lufthansa on Tuesday for denying boarding to 128 Jewish passengers on a flight in 2022, concluding they were discriminated against as part of the airline’s effort to handle the alleged misbehavior of some passengers. The Department of Transportation said it was the largest civil rights fine it has ever imposed on an airline.

Lufthansa has apologized for what happened and agreed to the fine, but it denied that any of its employees engaged in discrimination and disputed the authority of U.S. investigators to examine the case, according to an order resolving the incident. The passengers were traveling from New York to Budapest via Frankfurt in May 2022 for an event honoring an Orthodox rabbi. Most of the passengers did not know each other and booked tickets individually or in small groups, according to investigators.

On the first leg of the trip, the crew alleged that some passengers had to be reminded not to congregate in aisles and galleys and had not complied with rules requiring masks that the German government imposed at the time. But rather than determine who had failed to follow the rules, the transportation department said Lufthansa decided to deny boarding on a connecting flight to the 128 passengers — many of whom officials said were men wearing distinctive Orthodox Jewish outfits.

Passengers interviewed by investigators said Lufthansa denied boarding “to everyone for the apparent misbehavior of a few, because they were openly and visibly Jewish.” “No one should face discrimination when they travel, and today’s action sends a clear message to the airline industry that we are prepared to investigate and take action whenever passengers’ civil rights are violated,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/10/15/lufthansa-fine-jewish-passenger-boarding/