The Department of Transportation fined American Airlines $50 million for failing to assist passengers with disabilities properly. They’ve had multiple violations of laws protecting airline passengers with disabilities between 2019 and 2023. The investigation revealed the airline’s failure to provide proper assistance to wheelchair users. This led to injuries and mistreatment, along with mishandling thousands of wheelchairs.
In a recent press release, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated, “The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over. With this penalty, we are setting a new standard of accountability for airlines that violate the civil rights of passengers with disabilities.”
Their findings included a range of complaints against American Airlines, including three formal grievances from the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Investigators also reviewed an incident captured on video at Miami International Airport, where airline personnel mishandled a wheelchair by dropping it down a baggage ramp. Over the five-year period, American mishandled more than 10,760 wheelchairs, a figure only surpassed by Southwest Airlines.
Under the terms of the penalty, American Airlines must pay $25 million to the U.S. Treasury and allocate another $25 million. This goes towards improving equipment to reduce wheelchair damage, implementing a wheelchair tagging system to minimize delays, deploying a hub control center for coordinated wheelchair handling at large airports, and compensating affected passengers. If the airline fails to make these investments, it will owe the additional $25 million as a fine.
Buttigieg emphasized the need for accountability, stating, “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.”
American Airlines, while agreeing to the terms, denies any legal wrongdoing. The airline stated it entered into this agreement solely for settlement purposes and does not admit to violating any laws.
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