American Airlines Fined $50 Million After Investigation Reveals Passenger Mistreatment

A associated investigation by the Department of Transportation and the Justice Department's civilian authorities section has recovered American Airlines routinely violated rules meant to protect passengers successful wheelchairs.

While announcing the resulting $50 cardinal fine, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg explained that investigators learned that AA damaged "thousands" of wheelchairs and did not supply capable assistance to abnormal passengers.

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"One traveler pinch a disablement told america successful her words, 'I was made to consciousness for illustration a portion of luggage, truthful I do not alert anymore,'" Buttigieg said successful the property conference.

He went connected to state that "tolerating the mediocre curen of wheelchair users connected airplanes is over" and explained that investigations into different airlines for akin problems were already happening.

The $50 cardinal good is the largest handed retired for these types of violations. CNN reports that the Department of Transportation is "requiring the hose walk $25 cardinal arsenic a in installments toward the full $50 cardinal good to trim cases of damaged wheelchairs and make important infrastructure upgrades." If the follow-up finds that American has not made strides, it will past good it the $25 cardinal balance.

In a lengthy statement, American Airlines says that it has already made important investments successful fixing these problems and "takes each these complaints and claims earnestly and useful difficult to remediate them."