Lufthansa pays record $4 million fine for barring Jewish passengers from flight | Aviation

The German airline blocked 128 Jewish travelers due to the alleged bad behavior of some passengers, according to American authorities.

Lufthansa has agreed to a $4 million fine over an incident in which more than 100 Jewish travelers were barred from boarding their flight.

The German airline blocked travelers – many of whom wore distinctive clothing typically worn by Orthodox Jewish men – from boarding a connecting flight in Frankfurt in May 2022, due to alleged bad behavior by a few passengers, it said on Tuesday the US Department of Transportation.

Passengers interviewed by authorities said the airline treated the 128 Jewish travelers flying from New York to Budapest as a “single group” even though many of them did not know each other and were not traveling together, it said. the DOT.

The department said the penalty was the largest ever imposed on an airline for violating the Civil Rights Act.

“No one should face discrimination when traveling, 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 being violated,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.

Lufthansa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In its response to the DOT, Lufthansa said it regrets and publicly apologizes for the incident, which resulted from an “unfortunate series of inaccurate communications, misinterpretations and erroneous judgments,” according to a filed legal order by the ministry.

The carrier, however, denied that its employees engaged in discrimination and said its actions, “while regrettable, do not support any finding of discrimination or the department’s conclusions in this matter.”

Lufthansa said inappropriate behavior involving a number of passengers included obstructing flight attendants and arguing with crew over wearing masks.

The DOT said in its order that the airline had “concluded that it is not practical to address each passenger individually.”