Delta is fined $2 million for poor handling of disabled passengers
The U.S. Transportation Department fined Delta Air Lines $2 million for failing to adequately assist disabled passengers, in violation of federal rules.
The fine against one of the nation’s largest air carriers is the biggest non-safety-related penalty ever imposed on an airline by the department.
Delta has agreed to pay the fine by signing a consent agreement. In a statement, the air carrier said the airline takes “the responsibility of serving customers with disabilities seriously and has made significant investments in technology, feedback assessment and training.”
In response to complaints by disabled passengers, the Transportation Department’s Aviation Enforcement Office investigated the airline and found that it failed “many times” to offer disabled passengers the help required under federal rules to get on and off a plane.
The incidents that led to the fine occurred in 2007 and 2008 and involved passengers in wheelchairs who were left unattended for more than 30 minutes either on the plane after other passengers had departed or in a terminal or on a tarmac, according to federal records.
The Aviation Enforcement Office also found that Delta failed to respond adequately to complaints about treatment of disabled passengers and didn’t properly report each complaint with the federal agency.
Of the $2-million penalty, at least $750,000 must be paid by the carrier and $1.25 million may be used to improve its service for passengers with disabilities, according to the Transportation Department.
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