Federal officials are imposing a record-setting $50 million penalty on the nation’s largest airline for disability rights violations, a sum that’s 25 times higher than any other previous fine for similar issues.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said this week that it is fining American Airlines for numerous failures in assisting passengers with disabilities between 2019 and 2023. The airline was cited for providing delayed wheelchair assistance, unsafe physical assistance of wheelchair users — including some cases that resulted in injuries — as well as mishandling of wheelchairs.

“The era of tolerating poor treatment of airline passengers with disabilities is over,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With this penalty, we are setting a new standard of accountability for airlines that violate the civil rights of passengers with disabilities. By setting penalties at levels beyond a mere cost of doing business for airlines, we’re aiming to change how the industry behaves and prevent these kinds of abuses from happening in the first place.”

Officials at the Transportation Department said their investigation included three formal complaints filed by Paralyzed Veterans of America, a videotaped incident at the Miami International Airport where American Airlines personnel dropped a wheelchair down a baggage ramp and thousands of claims of mishandled wheelchairs and scooters.

Though American Airlines has been one of the worst performing airlines for handling of wheelchairs and scooters, the Transportation Department noted that the issues uncovered are not unique and said that the agency is investigating other airlines for similar violations.

The historic penalty “sets a new precedent for how DOT will enforce against such violations going forward,” the agency said.

American Airlines will be required to pay a $25 million fine to the U.S. Treasury. The remaining $25 million penalty will be credited to the airline to invest in improvements to better serve people with disabilities and compensate affected passengers. If the airline does not use the money as specified, it will be owed to the government, federal officials said.

Americans Airlines said that it is working to make improvements, saying that it has spent over $175 million this year alone on services, infrastructure, training and other needs to better serve passengers with disabilities. The airline said that its wheelchair and scooter handling rate has improved by more than 20% since 2022.

“Today’s agreement reaffirms American’s commitment to taking care of all of our customers,” said Julie Rath, the airline’s senior vice president of airport operations, reservations and service recovery.

The move to step up penalties for disability violations is just the latest effort the Transportation Department has taken in recent years to improve airline travel for people with disabilities. Earlier this year, the agency proposed rules mandating better training for airline personnel who assist people with disabilities, steeper penalties and new requirements for instances where mobility devices are damaged. Last year, federal officials finalized rules requiring many new aircraft to offer accessible lavatories.

In addition, plans are in the works to allow passengers to remain in their wheelchairs on airplanes. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently studying whether commercial aircraft can safely accommodate passengers in wheelchairs. So far, no major issues have been identified and fixes for minor issues are being developed. The agency is expected to determine the feasibility of accommodating wheelchairs on airplanes by the end of next year, the Transportation Department said.

“Change is happening,” said Michele Erwin, president and founder of All Wheels Up, a nonprofit that funds research on adding wheelchair spots to commercial aircraft. “This significant penalty, along with the initiation of federal testing to eventually accommodate wheelchairs on planes, clearly indicates that we are moving in the right direction.”

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