Regulations require airlines to assist passengers with disabilities, but not all comply

Last month, my wife and I went to Aruba. My uncle generously let us use his timeshare, and we had a great time. We got to see some beautiful beaches, ate delicious meals, and relaxed and read by the pool. We flew there on American Airlines. Thankfully, our flights were uneventful and went smoothly. Unfortunately, however, not all American Airlines passengers can say the same.

In 2023, the airline came under fire after a viral video showed a baggage handler send a wheelchair crashing down and off a ramp. The incident led to an investigation into the carrier by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Investigators discovered numerous infractions, including cases of American providing “unsafe physical assistance” to passengers. The alleged treatment “at times resulted in injuries and undignified treatment of wheelchair users.”

The agency also uncovered the airline’s mishandling or damaging of thousands of passengers’ wheelchairs from 2019 to 2023, leaving them without their mobility devices. According to the Transportation Department, disability-related grievances last year rose by more than 25% compared to 2022. As a result, many disabled Americans forego air travel out of fear of not being sufficiently accommodated by airlines.

The investigation determined that American violated the Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights, which was established by the Transportation Department in 2022. The regulations requires that airlines return passengers’ wheelchairs and mobility devices to them in a timely manner, and in the condition in which they were received. They are also obligated to help passengers with disabilities get on and off aircraft and move through the airport.

Unfortunately, the investigation revealed that American Airlines was not the only carrier to mistreat customers with disabilities. Regulators did determine, however, that the carrier was “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 problems that we have uncovered in our investigation are not confined to one airline,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “We have other active investigations into a number of U.S. airlines for similar violations.”

The investigation led to American Airlines agreeing to a record $50 million settlement with the Transportation Department for their violations. According to the settlement, the airline will pay a $25 million fine to the U.S. Treasury Department. The remaining $25 million will be invested in airline equipment to reduce incidents of wheelchair damage and in a wheelchair tagging system designed to better track the mobility devices. Funds will also go toward compensating passengers whose rights the agency said were violated from 2019 to 2023.

“With this penalty, we are setting a new standard of accountability for airlines that violate the civil rights of passengers with disabilities,” Buttigieg said. “By setting penalties at levels beyond the 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.”

Buttigieg continued, saying, “We believe today’s action sends a clear message to the airline industry that they need to improve their operations and their compliance with the law to ensure that all passengers fly with the dignity, respect and safety that they both deserve and are entitled to.” He proclaimed that as a result of the investigation, “The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over.”

American claims it is committed to improving the travel experience for disabled customers. “Today’s agreement reaffirms American’s commitment to taking care of all of our customers,” said Julie Rath, one of the airline’s senior vice presidents.

I hope their new practices really take off.

Reg Wydeven is a partner with the Appleton-based law firm of McCarty Law LLP. He can be reached at pcbusiness@postcrescent.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Wydeven: American Airlines fined $50M for mistreating disabled customers