Air France, Lufthansa and British airways fined

Trio of European airlines were fined by the U.S Department of Transportation (DOT) for inadequate response to complaints lodged by passengers with disabilities. Air France and Lufthansa were each fined $200,000 and British Airways was fined $150,000 and ordered to desist a repeat of the incident.

“When air travelers file complaints with airlines, they deserve prompt and complete responses that appropriately answer their specific concerns. We will continue to take enforcement action when airlines violate our rules protecting the rights of passengers,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said.

According to the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA), no airline is allowed to discriminate passengers with disabilities. The rules of DOT require airlines to produce a written response to any written complaint within 30 days of receiving it. Inspections by the department’s office of aviation enforcement and proceedings have revealed that these airlines have breached policy a number of times and have been fined for the same.