Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a $50 million penalty against American Airlines (American) for numerous serious violations of the laws protecting airline passengers with disabilities between 2019 and 2023. DOT’s investigation into American Airlines uncovered cases of unsafe physical assistance that at times resulted in injuries and undignified treatment of wheelchair users, in addition to repeated failures to provide prompt wheelchair assistance. American also mishandled thousands of wheelchairs by damaging them or delaying their return, leaving travelers without the device they need for mobility.
“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “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.”
DOT regulations require airlines to timely return wheelchairs and other mobility devices in the condition in which they were received and to provide passengers with disabilities prompt assistance to get on and off aircraft including moving within the airport. The Department also considers violations of these regulations for those traveling on domestic flights to be a failure to provide safe and adequate service. In July 2022, DOT published the first-ever Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights to help travelers understand what they’re entitled to when they fly.
In its investigation of American Airlines, DOT reviewed complaints against the airline involving allegations of inadequate wheelchair assistance, including three formal complaints filed by Paralyzed Veterans of America alleging similar issues. DOT also investigated American’s handling of wheelchairs between 2019 and 2023, including an incident captured on vide at the Miami International Airport of American’s personnel mishandling a wheelchair by dropping it down a baggage ramp. American had been one of the worst performers among U.S. airlines in terms of both the total number of wheelchairs and scooters mishandling claims and the rate of mishandling claims, and DOT’s investigation revealed a significant number of violations.
These problems are not unique to American Airlines, and allegations of wheelchair mishandling and inadequate wheelchair assistance are far too common. DOT has active investigations into similar violations at other U.S. airlines. Today’s enforcement action is 25 times larger than DOT’s previous largest airline penalty for violations of disability protections and sets a new precedent for how DOT will enforce against such violations going forward.
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division provided valuable assistance and advice to DOT during the negotiation of this penalty.
“We applaud the Department of Transportation’s landmark civil rights agreement to uphold the dignity of passengers with disabilities in air travel,” said Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. “The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities have the freedom to travel independently. Travelers with disabilities must be confident they will receive timely assistance and arrive safely, with their mobility aids and assistive devices intact.”
As part of today’s $50 million penalty, American Airlines will be required to pay a $25 million fine to the U.S. Treasury. In addition, American Airlines will be credited $25 million towards the total penalty for investments in equipment to reduce incidents of wheelchair damage, investments in a systemwide wheelchair tagging system to reduce incidents of wheelchair delay, deployment of hub control center employees to coordinate wheelchair handling on a systemwide basis at large airports, and compensation for affected passengers during the timeframe covered by DOT’s investigation. If these expenditures are not made, the additional $25 million will be paid as a fine to the U.S. Treasury.
Read the consent order here.
Under Secretary Buttigieg, DOT has sought higher penalties that go beyond the cost of doing business to better hold airlines accountable for the mistreatment of passengers and change airline behavior. Between 1996 and 2020, DOT collectively issued $71 million in total penalties against airlines for consumer protection and civil rights violations. During the Biden-Harris Administration, DOT has tripled that amount, issuing nearly $225 million in penalties, including the following:
- DOT’s largest ever airline penalty: $140 million against Southwest Airlines for its 2022 meltdown during Winter Storm Elliot.
- DOT’s largest airline penalty for religious discrimination: $4 million against Lufthansa for denying boarding to 128 Jewish passengers.
- DOT’s largest airline penalty for extreme tarmac delays: $4.1 million against American Airlines for dozens of instances where passengers were kept on the tarmac for 3+ hours.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, DOT has also taken historic action to improve transportation for people with disabilities in air travel.
- Published the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights, which describes the fundamental rights of air travelers with disabilities under the Air Carrier Access Act and its implementing regulation.
- Established a final rule on accessible lavatories on aircraft, requiring airlines to make lavatories on new single-aisle aircraft large enough to permit a passenger with a disability and an attendant to approach, enter, and maneuver within as necessary to use the aircraft lavatory.
- Funded accessibility improvements at airports through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Airport Terminals Program. Nearly 150 projects funded under this program are improving airport terminal access for people with disabilities and ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
- Proposed a new rule to ensure safe and dignified accommodations for air travelers with disabilities using wheelchairs. The proposed rule would set new standards for assistance, mandate enhanced training for airline employees and contractors who physically assist passengers with disabilities and handle passengers’ wheelchairs, and outline actions that airlines must take to protect passengers when a wheelchair is damaged during transport. DOT is currently working towards issuing a final rule.
