Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Lufthansa Fined $4 Million Over Alleged Discrimination of Jewish Passengers
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced a $4 million penalty on Tuesday against Lufthansa for discriminating against Jewish passengers who were traveling from New York City through Frankfurt to Budapest in May 2022.
The penalty is the largest ever issued by the DOT against an airline for civil rights violations.
A news release from the DOT stated that Lufthansa prohibited 128 Jewish passengers from boarding their connecting flight in Germany after alleged misconduct of some passengers. The release stated that most of the Jewish passengers were wearing distinctive garb typically worn by Orthodox Jewish men, and many of the passengers did not know each other nor were traveling together.
These passengers stated that Lufthansa treated them all as if they were a single group and denied them boarding for the alleged misbehavior of a few. The DOT received over 40 discrimination complaints from the Jewish passengers.
"No one should face discrimination when they travel, and today's action sends a clear message to the airline industry that we are prepared to investigate and take action whenever passengers' civil rights are violated," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, in the release. "From cracking down on long tarmac delays to ensuring passengers are properly refunded, our department has strengthened our enforcement efforts to hold airlines accountable for their treatment of passengers, and we will continue to push the industry to serve passengers with the fairness and dignity they deserve."
Investigations by the DOT found that during the first flight, the captain alerted Lufthansa security that some passengers were not following crew instructions and were connecting to another flight in Budapest. The release stated that the carrier later failed to identify any one passenger who failed to follow crewmember instructions.
The alert to security resulted in a hold being placed on over 100 passengers' tickets – all of which were Jewish. These passengers then couldn't board their next scheduled flight from Frankfurt to Budapest.
According to the DOT's consent order, Lufthansa stated that a large number of the passengers aboard the flight arriving at Frankfurt repeatedly disregarded crew instructions to wear face masks, which at the time was mandated under German law due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Additionally, Lufthansa stated that passengers were requested to avoid gathering in the aisles, galleys, and near emergency exit doors, as is required under U.S. and German law.
"Lufthansa steadfastly maintains that the actions of the crew of LH 401 were taken in the interest of safety and security," the consent order stated. "Lufthansa states that the crew of LH 401 did not discriminate against any passenger on the basis of perceived religion or ethnicity or manifest any intentional malice or ill intent toward any passenger. Lufthansa notes that certain flight attendants on LH401 permitted and facilitated praying by small gatherings of passengers during the flight, which the carrier asserts underscores the Lufthansa crew's lack of any discriminatory feelings or actions toward any of the passengers."
According to the consent order, $2 million of the $4 million penalty will be due within 30 days of the order. The remaining $2 million is being credited for compensation Lufthansa paid to the affected passengers.
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