The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has imposed a $4 million penalty against Lufthansa for discriminating against Jewish passengers who were travelling with the airline from New York.
The Department received over 40 discrimination complaints from Jewish passengers who were ticketed to fly from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), with a stop in Frankfurt, (FRA), and a final destination of Budapest (BUD) in May 2022.
“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 Pete Buttigieg, US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.
He added: “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.”
The DOT said in a statement: “Based on the alleged misconduct of some passengers, Lufthansa prohibited 128 Jewish passengers – most of whom wore distinctive garb typically worn by Orthodox Jewish men – from boarding their connecting flight in Germany.”
Despite many of the passengers not knowing each other, passengers interviewed by DOT investigators stated that Lufthansa treated them all as if they were a single group and denied them boarding for the alleged misbehaviour of a few.
This penalty issued by the DOT is the largest ever issued against an airline for civil rights violations.