The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has accused Lufthansa of discriminating in opposition to over 100 Jewish passengers again in 2022 and fined the German airline $4 million – the most important such tremendous the division has ever issued, it stated on Tuesday.
The tremendous is predicated on a civil rights grievance filed by the DOT in opposition to Lufthansa.
The case stems from a flight from Frankfurt to Budapest in May 2022, during which 128 passengers from New York, most of whom had been sporting clothes typical of Orthodox Jewish males, had been banned from boarding their connecting flight in Germany because of the “alleged misconduct” of some passengers.
On the flight from New York to Frankfurt, orders to put on face masks and never congregate within the aisles had been reportedly not adhered to by a number of the 128 passengers, although the airline didn’t determine explicit passengers, the DOT’s consent decree stated.
“Despite many of the passengers not knowing each other nor traveling together, 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 misbehavior of a few,” the DOT stated in an announcement.
Lufthansa “denies any suggestion that any of its employees engaged in any form of discrimination,” in accordance with the DOT’s consent decree. The firm regrets the circumstances that led to the choice to disclaim the passengers boarding and has apologized publicly on quite a few events, DOT stated in its assertion.
“Lufthansa notes that the denied boarding incident at FRA (the Frankfurt Airport) resulted from an unfortunate series of inaccurate communications, misinterpretations and misjudgments throughout the decision-making process,” the order said.
“No one ought to face discrimination once they journey, and right this moment’s motion sends a transparent message to the airline trade that we’re ready to analyze and take motion each time passengers’ civil rights are violated,” stated U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg within the DOT assertion.
Source: www.dailysabah.com