Oct. 15 (UPI) — The U.S. Transportation Department on Tuesday fined Germany-based airline Lufthansa $4 million for violating the rights of 128 Jewish passengers who were traveling from New York City to Frankfurt and Budapest, the largest fine ever issued for civil rights violations.
The incident happened in May 2022, during which the passengers, many of them wearing distinctive garb worn by Orthodox Jewish men, boarded a Lufthansa passenger plane from New York City with two stops.
While in Frankfurt, Lufthansa denied reboarding by the 128 passengers for the alleged misbehavior “of a few.” During an investigation, the Department of Transportation said many of the Jewish passengers targeted did not know each other and had no obvious relation except their religion — yet were all treated as one group.
“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,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
“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.”
During the investigation, the department learned that on the flight from John F. Kennedy Airport to Frankfurt, the flight’s captain alerted security that some of the Jewish passengers were not following the instructions of the crew.
During the investigation, the carrier’s flight attendants told many in the group that they were required to wear face masks during the flight and warned not to assemble in the aisles, gallies and near emergency exits, according to the court decree.
“Lufthansa staff recognized that the refusal to transport the entire group would result in the exclusion of passengers that had complied with crew instructions, on LH 401, but concluded it was not practical to address each passenger individually,” the Transportation Department said.
The department said in the decree that it appeared that Lufthansa made no effort to identify the individuals violating the rules while there were methods available to do so.