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The United States government has fined American Airlines $50m for maltreating persons with disabilities.
The Department of Transportation has fined American Airlines $50 million for violating laws that protect individuals with disabilities.
The DOT stated that its investigation into American Airlines revealed instances of unsafe physical assistance, which sometimes led to injuries and undignified treatment of wheelchair users.
Regulations require airlines to promptly return wheelchairs and other mobility devices in the condition they were received and to provide timely assistance for disabled passengers when boarding, disembarking, and moving within airports.
The investigation reported “repeated failures to provide prompt wheelchair assistance.”
According to The New York Times on Wednesday, the report also noted that American Airlines mishandled thousands of wheelchairs, either damaging them or delaying their return, leaving passengers without the essential devices they need for mobility.
“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over,” said 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.”
Buttigieg explained that the $50 million fine was deliberately set at a level beyond the typical cost of doing business for airlines, aiming to change industry practices.
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