US Transportation Department Fines American Airlines $50M For Violating Disability Laws

The U.S. Department of Transportation imposed a hefty fine of $50 million on American Airlines for allegedly mistreating passengers with disabilities, an issue that, according to the department, in some instances resulted in injuries.

In a conference call with reporters, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that the fine is 25 times larger than any other disability-related violations.

According to Buttigieg, American Airlines "provided unsafe and undignified physical assistance to passengers on a number of occasions that, at times, resulted in injuries" between 2019 and 2023. He also alleged that the airline "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."

The transportation secretary also said that investigations into other airlines are ongoing. "The problems that we have uncovered in our investigation are not confined to one airline," he said, adding, "We have other active investigations into a number of U.S. airlines for similar violations."

In response, American Airlines said in a statement on Wednesday that it formally reached a settlement with the Transportation Department to "continue the airline's significant actions to improve the travel experience for customers traveling with wheelchairs and mobility devices."

The airline reaffirmed its "long-standing commitment to serving passengers with disabilities" and said that in 2023, it served more than 8 million passengers who requested assistance, and transported more than 146,000 wheelchairs and other personal mobility devices.

It said that customer claims for mishandled wheelchairs and scooters have declined by more than 20% over the last two years. American Airlines further said that it invested more than $175 million in services, infrastructure, training, and new technology in 2024.

The airline added that its disability-related complaint rate for wheelchair assistance services is less than 0.1% – which means there is less than one complaint for every 1,000 requests for wheelchair assistance. Moreover, it delivered wheelchair movers to all of its hubs and gateways and invested in wheelchair lifts at more than 20 airports, with five more expected to be in place by the end of the year.

The airline also launched automated tags for mobility devices to ensure more accurate and consistent information for "team members handling the devices and provide enhanced visibility of the devices throughout the customer travel journey."

Regarding complaints, the airlines said that it "works hard" to remediate them and it investigates every complaint, providing customers with written responses.

"American routinely provides compensation to dissatisfied customers — including via trip credits, miles, vouchers and cash — to make the situation right," the airline said.