Biden administration fines American Airlines $50 million, citing 'serious violations' of passenger rights laws

23.10.2024 - 11:53 / thepointsguy.com / Pete Buttigieg

The Biden administration is slapping American Airlines with a record-setting punishment, criticizing the carrier's treatment of passengers who use wheelchairs for mobility devices — and their essential equipment.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced a $50 million penalty against American.

As part of an agreement, the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier will have to pay a $25 million fine to the federal government. It will also be required to invest an additional $25 million in improving the passenger experience for travelers with disabilities, from its interactions to infrastructure that helps employees handle mobility devices.

The DOT-imposed penalties come after the department revealed it uncovered "numerous serious violations" of passenger rights laws between 2019 and 2023.

During that time, the DOT said that American mishandled thousands of wheelchairs and repeatedly failed to offer prompt wheelchair assistance. Investigators also found a litany of unsafe or undignified treatment of disabled passengers that, in some cases, led to injuries.

"The bottom line is that the era of tolerating the poor treatment of wheelchair users on airplanes is over. Breaking a passenger's wheelchair or treating them in an undignified or unsafe manner is not just wrong, it is illegal, and that's why we're taking historic action here," Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a call with reporters.

In a statement to TPG Wednesday, American said it "has a longstanding commitment to serving passengers with disabilities." The carrier fielded more than 8 million requests for wheelchair assistance in 2023, the airline added, with just 0.1% of those cases resulting in a complaint.

In announcing the steep penalties against American, the DOT acknowledged the carrier is not alone.

The DOT Office of Aviation Consumer Protection has multiple active investigations into other U.S. carriers.

"While American Airlines appeared to be one of the worst offenders, the problems we have uncovered in our investigation are not confined to one airline," Buttigieg said.

However, DOT officials said that American, between 2019 and 2023, ranked near the top of several key complaint categories, from lack of prompt wheelchair assistance to mishandled mobility devices.

The DOT specifically pointed to a series of complaints filed against American by the nonprofit Paralyzed Veterans of America, a longtime advocate for disabled passengers in commercial air travel.

The department highlighted, as a high-profile example, a 2023 social media post that appeared to show a wheelchair careening down a luggage ramp before toppling violently onto the ground in Miami — a case Buttigieg, at the time, described as "totally unacceptable" on