American to pay $50 million fine for its treatment of disabled passengers

American Airlines has agreed to a grounds $50 cardinal colony pinch nan U.S. Department of Transportation for violating laws that protect hose passengers pinch disabilities. 

In an investigation into nan carrier, nan Transportation Department said it uncovered galore infractions, including cases of American providing "unsafe beingness assistance" to passengers. The alleged curen "at times resulted successful injuries and undignified curen of wheelchair users," nan agency said successful an announcement Wednesday. 

The agency besides accused American of mishandling aliases damaging thousands of passengers' wheelchairs from 2019 to 2023, leaving them without their mobility devices. 

"The era of tolerating mediocre curen of hose passengers pinch disabilities is over," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said successful a connection Wednesday. "With this penalty, we are mounting a caller modular of accountability for airlines that break nan civilian authorities of passengers pinch disabilities. By mounting penalties astatine levels beyond nan specified costs of doing business for airlines, we're aiming to alteration really nan manufacture behaves and forestall these kinds of abuses from happening successful nan first place," he said.

The hose came nether nationalist occurrence complete a 2023 video that showed unit members mishandling a passenger's wheelchair. The video, which was viewed millions of times connected societal media, shows a baggage handler sending a wheelchair crashing down and disconnected a ramp.

Disability-related grievances connected nan rise

The Transportation Department successful 2022 established an Airline Passengers pinch Disabilities Bill of Rights. Current national regulations require that airlines:

• Return passengers' wheelchairs and mobility devices to them successful a timely manner, and successful nan information successful which they were received.
• Help passengers pinch disabilities get connected and disconnected craft and move done nan airport.

Although incidents of airlines mistreating customers pinch disabilities are not unsocial to American, Transportation Department regulators wished that nan bearer was "one of nan worse performers among U.S. airlines successful position of some nan full number of wheelchairs- and scooters- mishandling claims and nan complaint of mishandling claims," according to nan announcement.

"The problems that we person uncovered successful our investigation are not confined to 1 airline," Buttigieg said successful a telephone pinch reporters. "We person different progressive investigations into a number of U.S. airlines for akin violations."

"We judge today's action sends a clear connection to nan hose manufacture that they request to amended their operations and their compliance pinch nan rule to guarantee that each passengers alert pinch nan dignity, respect and information that they some merit and are entitled to," he added.

Disability-related grievances past twelvemonth roseate by much than a 4th compared pinch 2022, the Transportation Department reported successful July.

Though they would for illustration to recreation by plane, galore abnormal Americans forego aerial recreation retired of fearfulness of not being sufficiently accommodated by airlines, according to an April study from nan Century Foundation. 

American Airlines to salary grounds fine

According to nan settlement, American Airlines will salary a $25 cardinal good to nan U.S. Treasury Department. The remaining $25 cardinal will beryllium invested successful hose instrumentality to trim incidents of wheelchair harm and successful a wheelchair tagging strategy designed to amended way nan mobility devices. Additionally, costs will spell toward compensating passengers whose authorities nan agency said were violated from 2019 to 2023. 

American said it is committed to improving nan recreation acquisition for customers who usage wheelchairs and different mobility devices. For example, nan institution has installed wheelchair lifts astatine much than 20 stations, including astatine Charlotte Douglas International Airport successful North Carolina and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport successful Texas, 2 of American's largest hubs. 

Through September, nan mishandling complaint for each mobility devices connected American flights had fallen 36% complete nan past 2 years, according to nan carrier.

"Today's statement reaffirms American's committedness to taking attraction of each of our customers," Julie Rath, American elder vice president of airdrome operations, reservations and work recovery, said successful a connection connected Wednesday.

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