American Airlines is a major airline in the United States, founded in 1926 and headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by scheduled passengers carried, revenue passenger miles, and daily flights.
According to reports, American Airlines has been fined $50 million USD by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) for repeatedly violating disability protection laws between 2019 and 2023.
The report further mentions that the airline mishandled and damaged “thousands” of wheelchairs and failed to provide adequate assistance to disabled passengers. As a result, it will pay $25 million USD to the Treasury Department and invest an additional $25 million USD in equipment and systems to improve wheelchair handling and compensation for affected passengers.
