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The Department of Transportation has fined American Airlines (AAL+1.20%) $50 million for violating consumer protections for wheelchair users, officials said Wednesday.
A four-year investigation into the airline found “cases of unsafe physical assistance that at times resulted in injuries and undignified treatment of wheelchair users,” the DOT said in a statement.
The department also found that, between 2019 and 2023, American Airlines repeatedly failed to provide wheelchairs, and damaged or delayed their return.
“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “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 a 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.”
The hefty penalty is 25 times larger than any previous fine levied against an airline for violating regulations around disabilities, the agency said.
In one incident at Miami International Airport, captured on video, American Airlines staff dropped a wheelchair down a baggage ramp. Among U.S. airlines, American has among the highest number of wheelchair and scooter mishandling claims, the DOT said.
Read more: The airlines most likely to mishandle your wheelchair, ranked
American Airlines said that it has taken efforts to improve its service for passengers with disabilities. Last year, less than 0.1% of its 8 million passengers with disabilities filed a related complaint with the airline, according to the company. Customer claims for mishandled wheelchairs and scooters have also declined 20% over the last two years, American said.
“This year, American invested over $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. “Today’s agreement reaffirms American’s commitment to taking care of all of our customers.”
Under the penalty, American will have to pay a $25 million fine to the Treasury, as well as a $25 million credit toward investments in equipment to curb incidents of wheelchair damage, investments in a systemwide wheelchair tagging system to reduce wheelchair delay, the deployment of a hub control center to coordinate wheelchair handling, and compensation for affected passengers during the investigation period.
The Department of Transportation said it will levy an additional $25 million to be paid as a fine to the Treasury if those investments aren’t carried out.