Airlines have a terrible record of handling wheelchairs and other equipment for disabled travelers. On average at least two dozen wheelchairs get damaged every day. The Department of Transportation has just issued a $50 million fine to American Airlines after a several years-long investigation into these very abuses of disabled passengers.
On a far too regular basis, airlines seem to think mobility devices are no different than a piece of luggage. However, if your luggage goes missing or gets damaged that’s an inconvenience that most travelers can manage. If you are disabled traveler and depend on your wheelchair to get around, and it arrives at your destination broken it can ruin your trip or even jeopardize your safety.
My wife and I experienced this firsthand back in 2016 when Air Canada broke her power-assisted wheelchair making our Mexico vacation less than ideal. We have reported on several other instances where airlines misplaced, mishandled, or straight-up destroyed other disabled travelers’ equipment. One passenger died from a skin infection that started with a pressure sore after she was forced to sit on a hard surface for hours because United Airlines lost her wheelchair.
DOT reviewed complaints regarding the mishandling of wheelchairs, mobility equipment, and the treatment of disabled travelers from 2019 to 2023 and determined that American Airlines was the worst offender thus resulting in a $50 million fine.
“U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a $50 million penalty against American Airlines (American) for numerous serious violations of the laws protecting airline passengers with disabilities between 2019 and 2023. DOT’s investigation into American Airlines uncovered cases of unsafe physical assistance that at times resulted in injuries and undignified treatment of wheelchair users, in addition to repeated failures to provide prompt wheelchair assistance. American also mishandled thousands of wheelchairs by damaging them or delaying their return, leaving travelers without the device they need for mobility. “
Of that $50 million, American Airlines will receive a “credit” of $25 million for equipment and system investments to reduce delays, damage, and mishandling. American will also use that credit to reimburse disabled travelers for damage. If the airline does not make those investments that $25 million will have to be paid to DOT.
While handling wheelchairs and other mobility equipment with care should be a common-sense practice, in 2022 the DOT published the Airline Passengers Bill of Rights that further solidifies the Air Carrier Access Act that went into effect in 2018.
In a statement, American Airlines expressed a commitment to better serve disabled travelers and detailed how the company has taken steps over recent years to reduce these kinds of incidents.
This is the largest fine ever levied against an airline for the mistreatment of disabled travelers and the DOT states that this should serve as a precedent for violations from other airlines going forward
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said of the fine:
“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over…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.”