By james art DALLAS (AP) — The U.S. government has fined American Airlines $50 million for failing to provide wheelchair assistance to disabled passengers and damaging thousands of wheelchairs over a five-year period.
The transport ministry said on Wednesday that “in some cases” wheelchair users had been injured, but did not give a number.
American said it has made significant investments to improve wheelchair handling. The airline will be credited $25 million, or half of its civil penalty, for those investments and compensation paid to affected passengers, according to a consent order.
The incidents raised by the Department for Transport took place between 2019 and 2023.
The investigation was prompted in part by three formal complaints filed by the Paralyzed Veterans of America against Americans.
Investigators also seized video of an incident at Miami International Airport last year. Workers pushed a wheelchair down the baggage ramp. He hit the bottom of the chute, flipped over and slid across the concrete.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said American Airlines “appears to be one of the worst offenders” but the problems investigators have found “are not limited to one airline.” He said the department was conducting similar investigations of other airlines, but declined to name them.
“The era of tolerating poor treatment of wheelchair users on airplanes is over,” Buttigieg told reporters.
Buttigieg said American’s mistreatment of passengers with disabilities is “not only undignified, but dangerous.”
Carl Blake, CEO of Paralyzed Veterans of America, praised the department’s actions.
“We are pleased to see the DOT make such a strong statement about how it will hold airlines accountable for endangering the well-being of passengers with disabilities, especially wheelchair and scooter users,” Blake said in a statement. “We are confident that this unprecedented enforcement will make it clear to the entire airline industry that passengers with mobility impairments deserve to travel with the same level of safety and dignity as everyone else.”
From 2019 to 2023, according to the Department of Transportation, Americans mishandled more than 10,760 wheelchairs and scooters.
Only Southwest Airlines, with more than 11,100, has had more accidents.
Spirit Airlines has had the highest error rate in several years, according to the department.
American said it has invested more than $175 million this year in infrastructure, training and other steps to improve the travel experience for people with disabilities.
American said it has reduced its mishandling rate of wheelchairs and electric scooters by more than 20%, and fewer than one in 1,000 customers requesting wheelchair assistance complain to the airline.
American’s penalty is far more severe than that imposed by the Transportation Department on other airlines it has found to have violated laws protecting passengers with disabilities. The previous record penalty was $2 million against United Airlines in 2016, which was reduced to $700,000 after United received a credit to compensate passengers and other costs.
Department officials said the amount of the fine against American reflects the high number of incidents involving wheelchairs being damaged or taking a long time to return them to passengers after flights.
Federal regulations require airlines to return wheelchairs and scooters to customers quickly and undamaged after flights and to help passengers with disabilities navigate airports and get on and off planes. Airlines are required to pay to repair or replace damaged wheelchairs, but advocates say that could still leave users without a proper way to get around for weeks.
The fine against American follows a proposal by the Department of Transportation to make it a violation of federal law if airlines damage wheelchairs or fail to return them to owners in a timely manner. The rule would also require annual training for airline employees who handle wheelchairs or lift passengers with disabilities. Buttigieg said the rule is being finalized but gave no timetable for completion.
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