On Oct. 23, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a $50 million penalty against American Airlines for violations of laws protecting airline passengers with disabilities between 2019 and 2023.

“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over,” said Pete Buttigieg, secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation. “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.”

During the investigation, DOT found cases of unsafe physical assistance that, at times, resulted in failures to provide immediate wheelchair assistance. DOT also noted the airline mishandled thousands of wheelchairs by delaying their return or damaging them. Evidence includes a video captured at Miami International Airport of American Airlines’ personnel dropping a wheelchair down a baggage ramp.

DOT names American Airlines as one of the “worst performers among U.S. airlines in terms of both the total number of wheelchairs and scooters mishandling claims and the rate of mishandling claims.”

The $50 million penalty will require the airline to pay a $25 million fine to the U.S. Treasury. American Airlines will also be credited $25 million toward the total penalty for investments in equipment to decrease the number of incidents relating to wheelchair damage, investments in a systemwide wheelchair-tagging system to reduce incidents of wheelchair delay, compensation for affected passengers during the timeframe DOT investigated, and deployment of hub control center employees to coordinate wheelchair handling on a systemwide basis at large airports. If these expenditures are not made, the additional $25 million will be paid to the U.S. Treasury as a fine.

“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that people with disabilities have the freedom to travel independently,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights. “Travelers with disabilities must be confident they will receive timely assistance and arrive safely, with their mobility aids and assistive devices intact.”

Of course, American Airlines isn’t the only airline guilty of wheelchair mishandling and inadequate wheelchair assistance. DOT currently has investigations open on other U.S. airlines accused of similar violations.

In August 2023, United Airlines agreed to pay $30 million to a quadriplegic man’s family after he went into a coma after an incident when he was wheeled off a plane in 2019.

DOT’s 2023 Air Travel Consumer Report named Spirit Airlines as having the worst record of mishandling wheelchairs and scooters in a span of three months. Comparing January–March 2022 to January–March 2023, Spirit Airlines went from 4.94 to 6.11 percent in number of wheelchairs and scooters mishandled per 100 enplaned. In the same report and time frame, Allegiant Air and Delta Air Lines came in at the fewest number of wheelchair and scooter mishandling incidents.

Beyond wheelchair and scooter incidents, there’s a wide range of disabilities, from visual disabilities to hearing impairments, all of which airlines continue to work to accommodate.

If you are a wheelchair or scooter user, what have your travel experiences been like? Have you been through a negative experience with an airline? Tell us your thoughts. Email us at letters@globaltravelerusa.com. Please include your full name and location.