American Airlines has been dealt a severe financial penalty after violating federal regulations that protect airline passengers from lengthy tarmac delays. The Transportation Department has fined the airline a staggering $4.1 million, making it the second largest fine of its kind ever handed out in the US.
The department discovered that American Airlines had trapped passengers on 44 different flights for dozens of long tarmac delays lasting over three hours. The flights in violation took place between December 2015 and January 2016, and saw some passengers stuck on the tarmac for as long as five hours without access to adequate food, water, and lavatories.
The violations of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s consumer protection rules came at a turbulent time for the airline, which had just gone through a major restructuring in 2015. The official report states that American Airlines “erred by stretching labor negotiations to the point of disrupting its operations and burdening its own passengers with long tarmac delays.”
The department also noted that American Airlines attempted to mitigate the violation by fully refunding affected passengers and providing them with 500 dollars in travel vouchers. However, this was seen as a band-aid remedy by the Department and was not considered sufficient by authorities.
American Airlines has already paid the $4.1 million fine, and currently faces an uncertain future with plenty of rivals bearing down on them in the cutthroat airline industry. But one thing is for certain: this situation should serve as a lesson for them, and all airlines, to not let customer experience and satisfaction suffer for the sake of labor negotiations. At the end of the day, despite the financial costs, safeguarding customer rights should always come first.
