The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) imposed a $50 million penalty on American Airlines for numerous serious violations of laws protecting people with disabilities between 2019 and 2023. Outgoing Biden Administration Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said, “With this penalty, we are setting a new standard of accountability for airlines that violate the civil rights of passengers with disabilities. 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.”
Prior to this, the largest fine ever imposed on an airline for violating the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)—enacted in 1986 and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan—was $2 million.
American Airlines was confronted with a list of offenses including inadequate wheelchair assistance and damaging wheelchairs. A passenger video of a wheelchair dropped down a baggage ramp was used as evidence. USDOT determined that American was one of the worst airlines regarding compliance with the ACAA.
The fine will be allocated as follows: $25 million to the United States and $25 million “for investments in equipment to reduce incidents of wheelchair damage, investments in a systemwide wheelchair tagging system to reduce incidents of wheelchair delay, deployment of hub control center employees to coordinate wheelchair handling on a systemwide basis at large airports, and compensation for affected passengers during the 2019-2023 period.”
If American fails to make the required changes, the Secretary will impose an additional $25 million penalty.
There has been some action in the airline industry to ease travel burdens so often encountered by people with disabilities. United Airlines created an industry-first digital sizing tool that allows customers who use wheelchairs to pick an airplane type based on the user’s personal wheelchair dimensions. Over 20,000 customers have used the tool to date. If the flight that accommodates a particular chair costs more than a flight to the same destination on a less appropriate United flight, the airline will refund the difference.
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and United Spinal Association have joined forces to highlight the challenges facing passengers with disabilities and the airline industry’s failure to meet its obligations under the ACAA, and urge Secretary Buttigieg to adopt stronger ACAA regulations. SEIU, which represents some of the personnel that assists wheelchair users at airports, United Spinal, and other disability organizations have called for increased training and wages for these employees. SEIU and disability rights groups believe that the safety and dignity of those who use wheelchairs and the service workers who support them are intertwined. While airlines clearly have nondiscrimination obligations, the industry has not made a significant investment in training or equipment to facilitate safe and dignified travel. Damage to wheelchairs and other assistive devices, injuries to passengers and workers, and numerous indignities have been endured for decades. Poorly trained workers struggle to get by on low wage, no-benefit jobs. The coalition of labor and people with disabilities will challenge the industry to improve service.
USDOT is now considering final ACAA rules that have the potential to change air travel for passengers with disabilities so that they will be accommodated safely, quickly, and in a dignified fashion.