American Airlines Fined $50 Million over Disability Rights Violations

By Ian Duncan / The Washington Post

12:21 JST, October 25, 2024

The U.S. Transportation Department fined American Airlines $50 million Wednesday for multiple violations of laws designed to protect air passengers who use wheelchairs, a penalty officials say is designed to send a message to the industry that it must uphold the rights of disabled travelers.

Investigators found that between 2019 and 2023 the airline failed to properly help passengers get on and off its planes, provided them unsafe help that caused injuries and mishandled thousands of wheelchairs.

“The era of tolerating the poor treatment of wheelchair users on airplanes is over,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told reporters in briefing Tuesday.

Investigators reviewed data on the rates of mishandled wheelchairs and public complaints, saying American was among the worst-performing airlines at handling wheelchairs. They pointed to a video shared in November 2023 that showed a worker tossing a wheelchair down a ramp at Miami International Airport.

American agreed to pay the penalty and resolve the investigation, but it did not admit to any of the violations. The airline said in a statement that so far this year it has spent $175 million on training, infrastructure and technology to better cater to passengers with disabilities. The airline said customer claims for mishandled wheelchairs and scooters had declined 20 percent over the past two years.

“Today’s agreement reaffirms American’s commitment to taking care of all of our customers,” said Julie Rath, the airline’s senior vice president responsible for airport operations. American said the employee shown tossing a wheelchair in the video no longer works for the company.

Investigators from the Transportation Department’s consumer protection office reviewed three complaints filed against American by Paralyzed Veterans of America. One alleged that a person flying from Palm Beach, Florida, to Washington was repeatedly mistreated by the airline. At one point staff tried to transfer him to his seat on the plane and slammed his head into a cargo bin. When they later tried to get him back in his wheelchair, his pants were pulled down. The same complaint alleged that another passenger was left stranded and unable to reach a restroom when needed.

Carl Blake, the chief executive of Paralyzed Veterans of America, said the action against American would send a message.

“We are pleased to see [the Transportation Department] making such a strong statement for how it will hold airlines accountable for jeopardizing the well-being of passengers with disabilities, particularly wheelchair and scooter users,” Blake said in a statement.

American will receive a $25 million credit toward the $50 million penalty in recognition of investments in equipment to handle wheelchairs more safely and compensation to affected passengers, the Transportation Department said.

Federal regulations require that airlines promptly return wheelchairs and other mobility devices to passengers after their trip. They must not be damaged. The rules also require carriers to provide passengers assistance getting on and off planes. The Transportation Department proposed in February to tighten the rules, in ways officials say would better protect passengers and make it easier to hold airlines accountable for violations.

While they singled out American, Transportation Department officials said the treatment of travelers who use wheelchairs is a problem across the airline industry and that other investigations were ongoing.

In August, airlines reported checking almost 80,000 wheelchairs and scooters and mishandled 1,000 of them, a rate of 1.3 percent. The Transportation Department considers a wheelchair to be mishandled if it is damaged, lost or not quickly returned to its owner. In May, the most recent month for which data is available, the department said it received 233 disability-related complaints.