The U.S. Department of Transportation fined Delta Air Lines Inc. $2 million for violating federal rules on passengers with disabilities, the agency said Thursday.
The fine is the largest imposed against an airline in a case not related to safety.
The DOT said it had found many violations of the requirements, in 2007 and 2008, to provide assistance to passengers boarding and exiting airplanes.
The government also found Delta frequently did not respond adequately to disability complaints from passengers.
Delta agreed to settle the case without admitting wrongdoing.
It can use most of the fine to improve its service for travelers with disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs.
Delta said in a statement it has made “significant investments” to address the issue since it was raised and would “continue to coordinate” with regulators.
The airline was cited by regulators for similar violations in 2003.
The U.S. Department of Transportation fined Delta Air Lines Inc. $2 million for violating federal rules on passengers with disabilities, the agency said Thursday.
It can use most of the fine to improve its service for travelers with disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs.
The airline was cited by regulators for similar violations in 2003.
So it’s been going on for almost 8 year. The $2m fine, as reported in your headline, in NOT a fine, but is a requirement to spend the money to “improve services”.
More Pulitzer prize reporting from the Tribune.
One problem with this. Now Delta goes $2 million further into the hole. Guess who is REALLY going to pay this fine. The judge should think twice and instead make Delta executives push people in wheelchairs for a month or something else which doesn’t punish consumers.