LUFTHANSA FINED FOR DISCRIMINATING AGAINST JEWISH PASSENGERS
November 6, 2024
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On October 15, 2024, DOT fined Lufthansa $4 million for discriminating against 128 Jewish passengers. In May 2022, Jewish passengers were prevented from boarding a connecting flight over concerns that a few passengers were not wearing face masks. Rather than restricting only the tickets of noncompliant fliers, Lufthansa barred more than 100 Jewish passengers from traveling. The considerable penalty represents one of largest ever against an airline for civil rights discrimination. While penalties for customer service violations are common, enforcement actions related to civil rights violations are unusual because it is often challenging to prove discrimination. Following the incident, DOT’s Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (“OACP”) vowed to vigorously protect all passengers from discrimination through aggressive oversight of the airline industry.
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