Other U.S. airlines are also under investigation for similar violations of disability protections for air travelers.
The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued a $50 million penalty against American Airlines following an investigation that the airline violated laws protecting the rights of passengers with disabilities between 2019 and 2023. The amount is many times larger than the previous record amount the DOT has levied against a U.S. air carrier for violating disability protections.
“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “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.”
Over a four-year period, the DOT fielded numerous complaints against American for how the airline accommodated passengers with disabilities. The investigation uncovered what the DOT called “serious violations of laws protecting airline passengers with disabilities”, including reports of damage to passengers’ wheelchairs and scooters, delays in returning wheelchairs and scooters to passengers, leading to actual or heightened risk of physical harm and significant impacts on passengers’ mobility. The DOT found that during the period, American was consistently one of the worst carriers in terms of total numbers of wheelchair and scooter mishandling claims.
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The DOT notes that American is far from the only carrier that mishandles wheelchairs and scooters, causing consumers to submit complaints. Without naming specific airlines, the DOT said in a statement that other US airlines are also under investigation for similar violations of disability protections for air travelers.
For the full year 2022, American mishandled 2.01 wheelchairs or scooters out of every 1,000 they loaded onboard their aircraft, lower than the number mishandled by JetBlue Airways (5.21) or Spirit Airlines (5.76).
For the full year 2021, American mishandled fewer wheelchairs or scooters per 1,000 enplaned than Hawaiian Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways, or Spirit Airlines. In 2020, American mishandled fewer wheelchairs than Spirit Airlines. In 2019, American was the worst among the ten carriers surveyed on wheelchair or scooter mishandling.
When it comes to disability complaints, American’s share of disability complaints in 2022 out of those filed with the DOT for all carriers was roughly the same (17%) as American’s share of overall consumer complaints filed with the DOT, indicating that American’s disability complaints were not an outlier for 2022. The DOT does not routinely report how many passengers request disability assistance from airlines, making data on the percentage of passengers complaining about disability accommodations out of all passengers with disability an airline accommodates unavailable.
Air travelers in the United States are protected by the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), companion legislation to the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ACAA provides specific requirements for airlines when accommodating passengers with disabilities ranging from restricted mobility to hearing, vision, cognitive, or temporary disabilities.
American consented to the $50 million settlement, but without admitting wrongdoing, saying it “takes very seriously its commitments to its customers with disabilities”, and notes that it reduced mishandling claims in early 2024 by 16% over 2022. American further argues that a small fraction of its passengers with disabilities report complaints about the service provided or allege mishandling of wheelchairs or scooters. American further explains that when it does make mistakes, it “routinely provides customers with compensation, including via trip credits, miles, vouchers, and cash”.
Half of the $50 million is payable by American in cash. The other $25 million will be credited to American for American’s costs related to compensating customers and improving infrastructure and technology for providing improved service for passengers with disabilities. American must provide documentation of its actual expenditures to the DOT, otherwise the balance will be payable as part of the settlement.
The DOT notes that they have issued a record amount of penalties to airlines during the Biden-Harris administration–$225 million for violating DOT consumer protection laws, compared with just $71 million during the 24-year period from 1996 to 2020. The DOT has also proposed new rules setting higher standards of assistance for passengers using wheelchairs.
