American Airlines fined $50m for mistreatment of disabled passengers

American Airlines gets grounds $50m good for attraction of disabled customers and damaging wheelchairs.

American Airlines has been fined a grounds $50m for the mode it treats disabled passengers needing wheelchair assistance and for damaging thousands of wheelchairs.

The fines travel a Department of Transportation probe into the hose that it says recovered “cases of unsafe carnal assistance that astatine times resulted successful injuries and undignified attraction of wheelchair users.”

The section besides discovered that the hose repeatedly failed to punctual wheelchair assistance and mishandled oregon damaged thousands of wheelchairs implicit a five-year period.

“The epoch of tolerating mediocre attraction of wheelchair users connected aeroplanes is over,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg declared to reporters.

He said American Airlines “appeared to beryllium 1 of the worst offenders,” but the problems “are not confined to 1 airline”.

Buttigieg said the section is conducting similar investigations into different airlines, but would not sanction them.

Formal complaints

It was prompted successful portion by 3 ceremonial complaints the Paralysed Veterans of America filed against American Airlines.

Investigators took a adjacent look astatine a video of an incidental astatine Miami International Airport past year. Workers slid a wheelchair down a ramp that crashed heavy astatine the bottommost of the chute and slid on the concrete.

Department of Transportation figures amusement that from 2019 done 2023, American mishandled much than 10,760 wheelchairs and mobility scooters.

Federal regulations necessitate airlines to instrumentality wheelchairs and different mobility devices successful the information successful which they were received and to supply passengers with disabilities punctual assistance to get connected and disconnected aircraft.

Carl Blake, the CEO of Paralysed Veterans of America, praised the department’s action.

“We are pleased to spot DOT making specified a beardown connection for however it volition clasp airlines accountable for jeopardising the well-being of passengers with disabilities, peculiarly wheelchair and scooter users,” Blake said successful a statement.

American Airlines said it is making important improvements to however it handles wheelchairs, investing much than $175m this twelvemonth connected caller equipment, grooming and different steps to amended the question acquisition for radical with disabilities.

American said it has besides chopped its complaint of mishandling wheelchairs and powerfulness scooters by much than 20 percent and that it is present receiving complaints from less than 1 retired of each 1,000 customers utilizing wheelchair assistance.

As portion of the penalty, the hose volition person to wage $25m and volition person recognition for $25m spent connected improving its practices, including compensation to customers.

The erstwhile grounds punishment was $2m against United Airlines successful 2016, which was reduced to $700,000 aft United got recognition for compensating passengers and different spending.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies