American Airlines Hit With $50M Fine Over Disabled Fliers

The nation's largest airline has been hit with a $50 million fine for repeatedly violating rules intended to protect passengers with disabilities. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the fine against American Airlines on Wednesday, saying it was 25 times larger than any other fine issued by the Department of Transportation for such violations, per NBC News. The DOT investigation revealed fliers with disabilities were roughly handled and injured during transit between 2019 and 2023, while their wheelchairs were damaged, sometimes beyond repair. American was found to have mishandled more than 2,500 of about 146,000 mobility devices last year, or 1.7%, per the New York Times.

"One traveler with a disability told us in her words, 'I was made to feel like a piece of luggage, so I do not fly anymore,'" Buttigieg said, per CNN. He added, per the Times: "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." Paralyzed Veterans of America, a nonprofit that submitted three formal complaints against American, applauded the DOT for "making such a strong statement" with the penalty, showing "passengers with mobility disabilities deserve to travel with the same level of safety and dignity as everyone else."

American must pay half the fine to the US Treasury. It must spend the other half to upgrade infrastructure to reduce wheelchair damage, as well as to compensate passengers. If the airline fails to do so, it will have to pay that $25 million "credit" as a fine to the Treasury as well, per CNN. The airline says it already spent $175 million this year on "services, infrastructure, training, and new technology," resulting in a 20% improvement in its handling of mobility devices since 2022. It adds it has a "long-standing commitment to serving passengers with disabilities" and will continue with "significant actions" to improve their experience. The DOT noted "these problems are not unique to American Airlines" and there are "active investigations into similar violations at other US airlines," per CNN. (More American Airlines stories.)