The U.S. Transportation Department announced a $50 million fine Wednesday against American Airlines over allegations it mistreated passengers with disabilities, which the department said in some cases caused injuries.
The fine is 25 times larger than the any other fine by the department for disability-related violations, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on a conference call with reporters.
The airline from 2019 to 2023 “provided unsafe and undignified physical assistance to passengers on a number of occasions that, at times, resulted in injuries,” Buttigieg said.
“They repeatedly failed to provide prompt wheelchair assistance, and they damaged thousands of passengers’ wheelchairs, which left passengers without the device they need to live their life fully,” he said.
American Airlines said in a statement Wednesday that it had reached a settlement with the Transportation Department and that it has been making efforts to improve its performance with passengers who need wheelchairs or other mobility devices.
It said its mishandled wheelchair and scooter rate has decreased by 20% since 2022. It also said it “invested more than $175 million in services, infrastructure, training and new technology” to improve service.
“American has a long-standing commitment to serving passengers with disabilities,” it said.
Julie Rath, the airline’s senior vice president of airport operations, reservations and service recovery, said in a statement, “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.”
The company said its efforts to safely transport wheelchairs and mobility devices include the delivery of powered wheelchair movers to all of its “hubs and tier-one airports,” which allow employees to more easily transport the equipment.
It also said it has installed powered wheelchair lifts to load wheelchairs onto planes at more than 20 of its stations, launched automated tags for mobility devices that feature information about customers and specific devices, and enhanced training for employees in how to properly handle devices and communicate with customers with disabilities.
American Airlines may not be alone in violations of laws that protect travelers with disabilities.
Buttigieg said there are investigations into other airlines, although he said that “American Airlines appear to be one of the worst offenders.”
“The problems that we have uncovered in our investigation are not confined to one airline,” Buttigieg said. “We have other active investigations into a number of U.S. airlines for similar violations.”
A Transportation Department official said that in the years the agency looked at, 2019 to 2023, American Airlines had the second-highest mishandling rate and that it had the second-highest number of reported mishandlings each year.
American said last year that it transported more than 146,000 wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
American had the third-largest domestic market share over from August 2023 to July, 17.4%, but it, Delta and Southwest all hovered at around that level, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The airline reported this year that it and its partners operated nearly 2 million flights last year.
Jay Blackman contributed.