The U.S. Division of Transportation fined German airline Lufthansa $4 million for allegedly discriminating towards Jewish passengers who have been touring in Could 2022, it stated in a launch on Tuesday.
The penalty is the biggest ever issued by the Transportation Division towards an airline for civil rights violation.
The division stated its investigation discovered that the airline had allegedly prohibited 128 Jewish passengers from boarding a connecting flight in Germany. The passengers have been touring from New York Metropolis via Frankfurt to Budapest.
“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 stated.
The Transportation Division stated it had acquired greater than 40 discrimination complaints from Jewish passengers on the flight in Could 2022.
The division’s investigation discovered that the passengers have been prohibited from boarding the flight to Budapest as a consequence of “alleged misbehavior” on the primary flight, which had led to a maintain being positioned on greater than 100 passengers’ tickets and stopping them from reaching their ultimate vacation spot.
The division stated that though the captain had alerted safety that some passengers weren’t complying with directions, Lufthansa had later did not establish any single passenger that did not comply with instructions.
The Hill has contacted the Lufthansa Group for remark.
