The US Department of Transportation throws Lufthansa in one case Discrimination against Jewish passengers and imposed a fine of 4 million US dollars (around 3.7 million euros) on the company.
According to authorities, this is the largest penalty the Department of Transportation has ever imposed on an airline for civil rights violations.
“Alleged Misconduct” by Jewish Passengers
Specifically, according to the information, it is about a flight from Frankfurt to Budapest in May 2022. 128 passengers from New York, most of whom were wearing clothing typical of Orthodox Jewish men, were banned due to “alleged misconduct” by some or a few passengers. to board their connecting flight in Germany.
“Although many of the passengers did not know each other and were not traveling together, passengers interviewed by U.S. Department of Transportation investigators said Lufthansa treated them all as a single group and denied them boarding because of the alleged misconduct of a few,” the writes US Department.
Discrimination? Lufthansa denies
Lufthansa rejects the accusation of discrimination. The company regrets the circumstances that led to the decision to deny boarding to the passengers and has publicly apologized on numerous occasions, the ministry quotes Lufthansa in the decision document. Lufthansa noted that the incident was due to “an unfortunate series of inaccurate messages, misinterpretations and misjudgments throughout the decision-making process.”
While this is unfortunate, there was no discrimination. According to the airline, the decision was made solely due to safety concerns, as the US Ministry describes. The majority of those affected did not wear corona protective masks as required on the flight from New York to Frankfurt.
“Message to the aviation industry”
In a statement from the airline, which was available to the “Washington Post”, it is said that Lufthansa has set itself the goal of being “an ambassador of goodwill, tolerance, diversity and acceptance”. A “unique training program” was developed that dealt with anti-Semitism and discrimination.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said: “No one should be discriminated against when they travel, and today’s action sends a clear message to the airline industry that we are prepared to investigate and take action when passengers’ civil rights are violated.”