American Airlines has been fined massively by the Department of Transportation (DOT) for alleged violations of airline passenger disability regulations regarding wheelchairs.

The DOT said the fine incurred by American Airlines as part of a consent order between the two parties was $50 million.

American Airlines receives a $25 million credit for “investments in equipment to reduce incidents of wheelchair damage, investments in a system-wide wheelchair tagging system to reduce incidents of wheelchair delay, the deployment of hub control center employees to coordinate the handling of wheelchairs system-wide as a whole. airports and compensation to affected passengers during the period covered by the DOT investigation,” the agency said.

An American Airlines plane approaches Dulles International Airport on August 5, 2024. (Umit Bektas/File photo/Reuters)

The agency’s investigation into American Airlines’ wheelchair assistance and management between 2019 and 2023 led to the sanction, the DOT said. Other airlines also face allegations of improper wheelchair handling and “inadequate” wheelchair assistance, according to the agency.

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He characterized American Airlines’ fine as “25 times higher than the previous largest penalty imposed by DOT on airlines for violations of disability protections.”

The DOT alleged that there had been instances of “unsafe physical assistance that at times resulted in injury and undignified treatment of wheelchair users,” slow wheelchair assistance, and mishandling of “thousands” of wheelchairs at American Airlines.

The consent order issued by the DOT states that American Airlines “firmly believes that it is in substantial compliance with the ACAA and Part 382” and “respectfully disagrees with the Department’s interpretation on many aspects » of these regulations. The carrier has not admitted any infringement.

Julie Rath, American Airlines’ senior vice president of airport operations, reservations and service recovery, said in a statement that the agreement with DOT “reaffirms American’s commitment to caring for all of our customers “, including those with disabilities.

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“This year, American has invested more than $175 million in services, infrastructure and training to improve the travel experience for customers traveling in wheelchairs and other mobility devices,” she said. declared.

With this investment, American Airlines added wheelchair mobility devices and elevators and introduced automated mobility device tags, among other measures, according to the carrier.

American Airlines takes all complaints “seriously” and “works hard to address them” when they arise, according to its statement.

An American Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on the runway at Barcelona Airport in Spain, October 8, 2024. (Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via /Getty Images)

It said its disability-related complaint rate for wheelchair services stands at “less than 0.1%.” Meanwhile, its mobility device processing rate has improved by more than 20% over the past two years, according to the airline.

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American Airlines is a major carrier, with more than 210 million people traveling with it in 2023.

Over the first half of 2024, the airline transported more than 111.95 million passengers, including nearly 59.2 million in the second quarter.