Lufthansa has been imposed with a historic penalty of $4 million (£3 million) by the United States after the airline barred Jewish passengers from a flight in 2022 due to allegations that some of them failed to adhere to face mask regulations. The Department of Transportation (DOT) stated that Lufthansa discriminated against these passengers by treating them “as if they were all a single group,” even though many were travelling separately and did not know each other.
This penalty marks the largest ever levied against an airline for civil rights violations, according to the DOT. In the consent order, Lufthansa acknowledged the penalty to avoid legal proceedings while denying any wrongdoing. The airline attributed the incident to “an unfortunate series of inaccurate communications.” In a statement, Lufthansa emphasized its commitment to being a promoter of goodwill, tolerance, diversity, and acceptance, noting that it has cooperated with the investigation and is focused on staff training.
The incident occurred in May 2022, involving passengers flying from New York to Budapest with a stopover in Frankfurt. Many of the individuals were men dressed in “distinctive attire typically worn by Orthodox Jewish men,” and they had booked their tickets through the same few travel agencies, according to the DOT.
During the initial flight, the captain informed Lufthansa security that some passengers had not complied with crew instructions regarding mask-wearing and restrictions on congregating in aisles and other areas onboard.
As a result of this alert, tickets for over 100 passengers—all of whom were Jewish—were put on hold, preventing them from boarding their connecting flight. The DOT indicated that Lufthansa realized its actions would also negatively impact those passengers who had complied with the rules but determined it was impractical to address each passenger separately.
Most affected passengers were rebooked on alternative flights on the same day.
“No one should experience discrimination while travelling, 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,” said US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
According to the DOT, passengers interviewed during the investigation reported that they did not observe any misbehaviour, and Lufthansa was unable to identify any specific individual who had disobeyed the rules.
However, in its consent order, Lufthansa explained that its staff found it impossible to pinpoint specific passengers because “the infractions were so numerous, the misconduct occurred throughout significant portions of the flight at different times, and passengers changed seats during the journey.” The DOT mandated that Lufthansa pay $2 million, while also granting the airline credit for the $2 million it has previously disbursed to passengers as part of a legal settlement.
