The German airline Lufthansa has been ordered to pay $4 million in fines by the US Department of Transportation after denying 128 Jewish passengers boarding a plane in 2022. It is said to be the largest amount ever issued in the United States against an airline over civil rights violations.
The incident at the base of the fine happened in May 2022. While travelling from New York to Budapest with a layover in Frankfurt, Lufthansa personnel denied 128 Jewish passengers the right to board their connecting flight to Budapest in response to some passengers’ alleged misbehaviour in relation to mask compliance and other onboard incidents.
Instead of treating the passengers, most of whom didn’t know each other and weren’t travelling together, 128 passengers, who were wearing “distinctive garb typically worn by Orthodox Jewish men,” according to the DOT, were treated as a group and denied access to the plane.
Outrageous:
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) May 9, 2022
Banning ALL Jews from a flight because of an alleged mask violation by some Jewish passengers is textbook antisemitism from @Lufthansa.
While this is infuriating, the airline's apathetic response to this incident is equally shocking. pic.twitter.com/CAbIVFlCfN
The incident sparked immediate outrage, and the American Jewish Committee signed a memorandum of understanding with Lufthansa in 2022, stating the German airline would adopt the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Moreover, the AJC would train airline employees on how to identify and respond to antisemitism. In November 2022, Lufthansa also agreed to pay all the 128 passengers involved $20,000 on top of a $1,000 reimbursement.
However, the $4 million fine comes after more than 40 Jewish passengers aboard the plane filed discrimination complaints against Lufthansa.
The Department of Transportation has fined Lufthansa a record $4 million for allegedly discriminating against a group of Jewish passengers in 2022. pic.twitter.com/Xg8jhS9M3q
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) October 16, 2024
“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.
In the consent order released together with the announcement of the fine, Lufthansa stated that the incident “resulted from an unfortunate series of inaccurate communications, misinterpretations, and misjudgments throughout the decision-making process”, stating that these “although regrettable, do not support any finding of discrimination and the department’s findings in this case.”
“Lufthansa states that it has zero tolerance for any form of religious or ethnic-based discrimination, including antisemitism,” the company continued in the consent order. “Lufthansa states that it and the entire passenger airline group have had a robust and fruitful relationship with the Jewish communities around the world, especially in the United States. Lufthansa states that it is a trusted choice, to this day, for members of the Orthodox Jewish Community who continue to use the Lufthansa Group for travel throughout Europe as well as to Israel.”
